


There's Always a Loophole

by cflynnrun



Series: Loving an Earp Keeps Things Interesting [4]
Category: Wynonna Earp (TV)
Genre: Arranged Marriage, Canon-Typical Violence, F/F, F/M, Fake Marriage, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Family, Family Fluff, Family Secrets, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, mostly canon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-12
Updated: 2019-01-19
Packaged: 2019-05-05 14:13:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 27
Words: 88,639
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14620389
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cflynnrun/pseuds/cflynnrun
Summary: Waverly's father made a deal with a demon 20 years ago. Now he's coming to collect and the sisters need to find a way out. Combining two of my favorite tropes into one story.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is longer than all the previous fics I've written combined (and I'm only on page 2/5 of my outline). One of my favorite parts of the show is the Waverly and Wynonna's relationship, so expect a lot sister time. Also, sorry about the formatting, it never seems to transfer over exactly how I want it.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Where it all begins.

 

_20 years ago._

_"Those are my terms. Take ‘em or leave ‘em; up to you!”_

_“You’re asking me to give you my child - as if she’s an animal or something.”_

_“But she’s not_ **_really_ ** _yours is she?”_

_The smirk set Ward off; he’d barely been holding it together before. The veins in his next were bulging out of his neck, his whole body shaking. The way he was gripping the table made it obvious that he was fighting the urge to lunge._

_“You don’t know what you’re talking about!”_

_“Your reaction tells me I do. The great Ward Earp can’t keep his woman satisfied! She had to go somewhere else and now you have to raise the bastard child. Oh how the great have fallen!”_

_Ward couldn’t hold himself back any more. He lunged forward, but hit the ground before he got anywhere close to making contact. He felt a boot on his chest, pushing down just enough to affect his breathing. “So about that deal… Are you willing to sacrifice one to save you all?”_

_Ward couldn’t bring himself to look as he whispered “Yes.”_

* * *

 

“Tell me where Peacemaker is, and I'll kill your sister fast.”

“It's in my panty drawer. Why don't we go get it?”

          Waverly knew she ought to do something but felt rooted to the spot. She knew about revenants – in theory. It was very different when one was standing right in front of you. She felt helpless, hiding behind Wynonna, but her feet were rooted to their spot. It wasn’t until he had the gun in his hand that she even registered the conversation.

“Boss-man said I'd never take it from you. Can't wait to prove him wrong.”

          If the teeth and the eyes weren’t enough of a clue, the screaming and burning definitely said revenant.

“Get it off! Get it off! It burns!”

         Waverly tentatively followed behind Wynonna as she walked around the edge of the bar. Red was lying on the ground, clutching his hand and breathing frantically. As Wynonna quickly reached down and grabbed Peacemaker, his eyes turned red and a firey mark rose out of his forehead.

“Your daddy’s deal won’t protect you forever; he’s coming to collect soon.” Red said with a demonic smirk.

“What deal?” Wynonna asked. Waverly stepped out from behind Wynonna, finally getting her voice back. “Daddy would never make a deal with a revenant! He’s lying Wynonna. Shoot him!”

          Looking at Waverly, Red sneered: “So naïve. You have no idea what’s coming for you.” He turned back towards Wynonna and tried to stand.  “We're gonna get you.”

" ‘We’? Maybe. ‘You’? Doesn't look great.” Wynonna said as the gun began to glow. She aimed between the eyes, pulled the trigger and watched as a firey hole opened in the floor.  “Cleanup, aisle 3.” She mumbled as she watched him get pulled into the ground.

“I'll get a cloth.” Gus added in a remarkably casual manner, already heading towards the kitchen in search of a towel.

“Well, that was unexpected” Waverly said turning towards her sister.

“It’s definitely dramatic.”

“Do you think he was telling the truth about the deal?”

“He’s a revenant. I think he’d say anything to try to hurt us, or buy himself some time.”

          Wynonna turned back towards the bar, grabbing a glass and the first bottle she saw. Waverly sidled up, right as she was pouring herself drink. Grabbing a glass for herself, she motioned for the bottle.

 

* * *

 

          Waverly wasn’t sure what it said about her family that they continued with dinner as if nothing had happened. But Gus _had_ made lasagna with her homemade sauce. And there _was_ an open bottle of her favorite whiskey on the table. And honestly, they wouldn’t be Earps if they weren’t good at compartmentalizing.

“So, is this going to be a regular occurrence now?” Gus asked, finally steering the conversation away from the small talk.

“Sunday dinner? I guess I could deal with your food once a week or so…” Wynonna’s attempt at nonchalance didn’t fool either of the other women at the table.

“I was asking about the crazy man attacking Shorty’s. Sunday dinner isn’t optional or up for debate.”

“I doubt anyone else will be dumb enough to try now, but Red was an idiot, so…” Wynonna responded.

          Waverly had been pushing her food around her plate for the last few minutes, trying, and failing, to eat anything. But there was something nagging at her.

“Do you think there’s anything to what he was saying? About daddy?” she finally asked, eyes down. She couldn’t bring herself to look at Wynonna.

“Of course not! Revenants will do anything to try and mess with us or buy themselves more time.”

          Wynonna’s grip on her fork got tighter and tighter as she talked, and Waverly was worried she’d bend the fork if she kept it up. She was looking over Waverly’s shoulder staring at the wall behind her head. “Daddy would never do anything like that!”

          Waverly reached her hand across the table and gently took the fork from Wynonna’s hand. She placed it on the table and gave her hand a squeeze. Wynonna finally looked at Waverly and took a shaky breath.

“He…he might not have done that to you. Or Willa… but he never cared about me –“

“Don’t say that! He cared about us!” Wynonna nearly jumped out of her chair in her hurry to reach the bar and find a way out of this conversation.

“He forgot my birthday. 3 times. He told me he didn’t like seeing my face. He never came to my school events or hung my art on the fridge. He paid attention to you, but I didn’t exist!”

“He was just busy and stressed. He was trying to break the curse.” Wynonna shouted, turning and slamming her palms on the table in front of her.

“And he always said he’d do anything to end the curse! Why not this!? Huh?”

          Waverly had launched to her feet and was gripping the edge of the table like it was the only thing keeping her from exploding. Gus slowly rose from her seat, putting a calming hand on Waverly’s shoulder, and looking at Wynonna across the table.

“You know I’m not Ward’s biggest fan –“ Gus started, holding up a hand to silence Wynonna before she could interrupt. “Wynonna, he was not always the upstanding man you remember –“

“Don’t! You don’t -“ Wynonna tried to interrupt, but Gus just raised her voice over the objections. “I saw a lot more than anyone thought and a lot more than you girls ever did. I’d like to think he was better than that, but in my experience, you never underestimate a desperate man! Men and animals make stupid decisions when they’re trapped.”

“So what? We’re supposed to believe some revenant dick?”

“You’re a deputy now; isn’t it your job to investigate crazy claims?”

“I’ll help!” Waverly chimed, finally re-entering the conversation.

“It’s not like there’s anything left at The Homestead. And we can’t exactly walk up to a revenant and ask. I mean, where would we even start looking?” Wynonna started to wander away from the table again, heading back to the bar; back to the whiskey. “Nedley has jack shit about our family, I already checked. Just a whole lot of bullshit about me being crazy.”

“When you girls came to live with me, I brought a bunch of stuff over; birth certificates, house deeds, whatever he had filed away. There’re boxes of the stuff in the attic I never looked through. Never had a reason.”

“Old musty papers are kind of my jam Wyn! Grab that Whiskey! We have some research to do!”

“Kill me now!”

 

* * *

 

 

“I don’t think I’ve ever been up here.”

“If you had ever been here for Christmas you’d be familiar with the attic. Curtis made a whole thing out of pulling out the decorations every year. Egg nog, Harry Connick Jr., ugly sweaters… the works.”

“I’m sorry I missed it Waves.”

Waverly just waves her off and headed to the back corner of the attic. “I’ve never been this far back before. Never really thought about what else was up here I guess. But Gus said all the stuff from The Homestead was back here by my old bed.”

“Shit. I didn’t know there was that much to take. There’s got to be 6 or 7 boxes to go through!”

“We’d better get started then! I hope we find some baby photos! I remember Momma having a couple of albums, but I always thought she took them with her.”

Waverly eagerly dove into the first box she saw, but Wynonna was a bit more hesitant. She poked around amongst the boxes, before finally settling on a small trunk. She knelt down and slowly pulled it toward her, hesitating as she started to lift the top.

“What did you find? I don’t remember that from the house.” Waverly asked looking over at Wynonna. Wynonna seemed almost paralyzed, frozen with the lid half way up, pulling in short ragged breaths. Her voice cracked a bit as she said, “It was Momma’s. She used to hide it in my closet before she left. She never would tell me what was in it, and I promised never to look.”

Waverly could tell she was fighting back tears. She still hadn’t moved her eyes from the trunk. Waverly slowly rose to her feet and walked toward her sister; kneeling by her side and placing her arm across her shoulder. “We don’t have to open it. If you’re not ready.”

“But what if she knew something? What if she put something important in here? She made me promise I wouldn’t tell Daddy or Willa.”

“They’re not here, Nonna. It’s just you and me and whatever Momma left us. And I can leave if you want. I can let you do it on your own.”

“NO! I mean, we’re in this together. You and me. You’re everything; you should see it too.”

          Despite her comments, Wynonna still hesitated to open the trunk. With a quick squeeze from Waverly and a deep breath, she opened the trunk slowly. Neither girl expected what they found inside. On the top were a bunch of loose family photos and the albums Waverly remembered. The girls pulled the photos out and slowly fanned through them. 

“Aww, look at us! This was Halloween! Willa and I went as Disney princesses; well I went as Mulan, but Willa wanted a big beautiful dress. Momma made us costumes. Do you remember that?”

“Momma left before she made me anything. And Daddy never wanted to get me a costume. Shorty always took me shopping for a costume, because he didn’t want me to be the only one at school without one.”

“But you were a fire fighter that one year. Daddy took us into the city to get the costumes. Willa teased you about having a boy costume.”

“Yeah, Daddy took you and Willa into the city. He left me at Chrissy’s house. Nedley heard that I didn’t get a costume like you two and let me tag along with Chrissy.  _ They _ bought my Halloween costume that year. I didn’t realize how sad that was until middle school. I thought it was a fun treat with my friend; but her family pitied me. Daddy was  _ really _ good at passing me off on other people – he never wanted me around if he could help it.”

“Don’t say that! He loved you.”

“No. He loved you. He loved Willa. He tolerated me.”

“You were his baby girl.”

“I’m your baby girl. He never called me that. That was just you and Momma.” Waverly walked away from the trunk, going back to the box she was searching through. Wynonna watched her for a minute before speaking up “He loved you – “

“Stop Wynonna! We both know he didn’t. Just finish looking through Momma’s stuff.”

 

          The two girls searched through their boxes in awkward silence. All you could hear was the shuffling of papers, the sliding of boxes and Waverly occasionally humming as she read. Wynonna pulled the photos from the trunk and placed them off to the side. She pulled the fancy jeweled dagger and the weird, witchy looking tools out of the box, looking for anything underneath. She was secretly pulling for some hidden weed, but who would leave that behind when they left?

          As she returned the crazy shit back to the trunk, Wynonna bounced her leg anxiously. She was not used to sitting still for so long and was slowly going stir crazy. She kept glancing Waverly’s way, hoping she’d catch her eye, but Waverly was lost in the old papers she was reading. Wynonna reluctantly dragged the next box over with an overly dramatic sigh. As she shuffled through the box, she began to notice old sepia photos; photos that she hadn’t seen before. 

“Hey Waves. You recognize this old guy? He looks kind of familiar.”

“Hmm… I don’t know. I’d need to consult my research. Is that box all old photos like that?”

“It looks like old journals and papers too. Actually, it looks a bit like the stuff you had on your creepy murder board.”

“It’s not a murder board.” Waverly stood and walked over to the box, peeking inside. “That has to be the box. See. Look at that journal; it has Daddy’s initials at the bottom. If we’re going to find anything, it’s going to be in this box.” Waverly slid the box to the open spot in the center of the attic. “Let me go grab some folders and stickies and pens! This stuff will  _ definitely _ help in the revenant hunt!”

“You are way too excited about school supplies Waves. We need to get you a hobby.”

“Organizing is a hobby!” Waverly piped back as she climbed down, out of the attic. Wynonna turned to the box and started pulling everything out, laying it across the floor. She picked up Ward’s journal and turned it over in her hands, running her palm across the leather and tracing his engraved initials across the bottom of the cover. She jumped when Waverly burst back into the attic with a stack of file folders and an old pencil case. 

“Baby girl, please tell me that isn’t the same pencil case I got you for your 10 th birthday.”

“What? It still works!” Waverly said as she walked towards the box.  “And I like it. It reminds me of you.” She added quietly. 

Waverly sat, legs crossed, on the floor in front of the piles of paper. “Oh man. So much to look through, I don’t even know where to start!”

“You are way too excited about this stuff. It’s old, it smells and there’s just sooo much reading!”

“Don’t act like you don’t read. I saw you with your nose buried in a book last night.”

“But that’s a thriller, cop novel. I’m just learning cop stuff,” Wynonna said pulling documents from the box. “Besides! It’s exciting. This? Not so much. It’s just a long list of names and really shitty scribbles. God! They say my handwriting is rough…”

“Oh man. There are like 20 names in this stack alone. Some I already have, but there’re at least a couple of new ones. I can’t wait to add them to my list! And the pictures! Some one even labeled them with name and crime. It looks like Wyatt’s handwriting but I can’t be sure. I never was very proficient at graphology; always seemed like a too much speculation for my taste.”

“Waves. I love you. But you’re rambling.”

 

          The girls worked quietly, except for Waverly’s occasional, quiet murmurings. Wynonna flipped through Ward’s journal, not really sure what she was supposed to be looking for. There were pages with notes about the revenants he had tracked. She read through them and flagged them with Waverly’s sticky notes; but not without an eye roll. Waverly was sorting the papers and pictures in a way that made sense to her, but seemed completely random to Wynonna. She had sorted through most of the pile in the time it had taken Wynonna to read through half a journal. Wynonna huffed and said: “This is why I don’t do research Waves. I’m so slow and I’m not even going to remember half of this tomorrow!” Waverly didn’t look up, only snapping out of her zone when Wynonna threw a pad of stickies at her. 

“What’ve you got?”

“I’m not sure. I think they’re letters between Wyatt and… I don’t know. I can’t really read it. It’s really degraded and there’s quite a bit of water damage, so it’s hard to decipher.”

“We should take it to Dolls. He has all sorts of fancy shit that we could use.”

“Are you sure you want him to read these before we do.”

“…Good point. So we sneak in to BBD and use his fancy tech stuff  _ before _ we show him.”

“No offense Nonna, but you’re not great at sneaky…”

“Offense taken! I’m super sneaky. I sneak stuff all the time.”

“The last donut doesn’t count. We all know it’s you. And you were  _ always _ getting busted by Gus for sneaking out.”

“Whatever. Like you’re miss sneaky mastermind.”

“I’ve spent the last 4 years learning everything I can about the curse, collecting Wyatt Earp memorabilia, creating my ‘murder wall’ and studying dead languages so I can read ancient texts about demons. And you’re the  _ first _ person to find my research or realize what I was doing.” Waverly put her hands on her hips and leveled her gaze at her sister “And I never got caught sneaking out to a party. Always made it back without either of them finding out!” she added with a smirk.

“Hmph. Whatever. Still doesn’t sound like a plan.”

Waverly sighed and rolled her eyes. “It’s simple really. The next time you guys go on a BBD mission (that I could totally help with b.t.dubs) I’ll sneak in and scan the files. Easy.”

“No offense Wave, but you couldn’t figure out that the printer wasn’t broken, but just needed paper…”

“Offense taken! It was a long day and I’d just been hung. I think I deserve a little slack!”

“Honestly, it’s better than anything I can think of. You have a safe way to carry that around for a while? Don’t know when we’ll get called out, and we won’t have very long.”

 

          Waverly carefully tucked the documents into one of the sheet protectors that she seemingly pulled out of nowhere. She smiled, patted the documents gently and grabbed a new stack. Wynonna rolled her eyes, threw the journal off to the side and grabbed the old, manila, accordion folder: wrapped tight with a string. She unwrapped the string from the paper button, and pulled the flap back. She expected the folder to be full, but it only held a handful of papers. A quick scan showed 3 letters, a few official looking pages and a photo. She quickly pulled out the photo, but didn’t recognize the man in the picture; the old timey get-up didn’t help either. 

“Hey Waves! Who’s Ugly here?”

“Huh. Pass it here.” Waverly took the picture and looked closely. “Well the clothes suggest business man; bar owner, store keeper, other…generic businessman. But I don’t recognize the face.” She turned it over. “Aaaaaand no name on the back! Helpful Daddy. I’ll add it to my pile to ID.” She placed the picture on the stack she had by her knee. “Hey. Wynonna! Are you listening to me?”

Wynonna didn’t respond, her eyes frantically scanning the document in her hands. Her brows furrowed more and more by the second.

“Nonna! Hey. What is it?"

“I found what Red was talking about… And it isn’t good.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The sisters learn the extent of their troubles.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look at me! Actually updating when I said I would. Off to a good start!

          Waverly won’t admit it out loud, but when she read the document Wynonna had hesitantly held out to her, she nearly passed out. She now completely understood what Chrissy had described when she passed out in high school after locking her knees at a football game; she heard the loud ocean sounding noise, felt her vision tunneling and started sweating like she was in a sauna. She needed air, and she need it fast. She doesn’t even remember climbing down out of the attic, or Gus calling her name as she pushed her way through the screen door, just shy of a run. She didn’t see Gus dry her hands and take the document from Wynonna. She didn’t hear Wynonna explain or Gus come running out the back door.

          The first thing she noticed was Gus’ hands on her shoulders and Wynonna grabbing her hand. She turned to look at them both and melted into Gus’ arms. She tried to focus on Wynonna’s hand tracing circles across her back and her promises to fix everything. She couldn’t seem to calm her breathing and she was bordering on hysterical. She felt a tight, almost pain full squeeze on her hand and she looked down to her hand connected with Wynonna’s. She tried to focus on their hands and slow her breathing.

          “We’ll find a way to fix this! I promise. I’m taking it to Dolls and he’ll find a way out. We’ll use the fancy computers to read the blurry part and we’ll find a loophole. There’s always a loophole. I won’t let you marry a revenant baby girl. I won’t let anyone force you to get married! There had to be a reason – I don’t know what it is, but he wouldn’t just do that to you. You’re Waverly! How could anyone hurt you?”

          “It’s pretty easy not to care about someone when you wish they weren’t born,” Waverly threw over her shoulder as she pulled away from Gus and Wynonna and headed towards her car. She ignored Wynonna calling her name as she walked as fast as she could to her car. She wrenched the door open and slammed it shut behind her. On any other day, she would have apologized to her baby, but today, she couldn’t bring herself to care. She nearly spun out flooring it down the gravel road. And if she drifted a bit turning on to the road; well who could blame her?

 

* * *

 

 

          Waverly didn’t know what to do with herself and couldn’t face Gus and Wynonna and all their pity and anger. She just wanted to stew in her own anger and maybe curse at her father a bit. She decided to stop being good, sweet, well-behaved Waverly and channel her inner Wynonna instead. So she pointed her car towards Shorty’s intending to drink until she couldn’t remember anymore.

          She walked into Shorty’s with a bang and looked around the bar. One of the regulars tipped his hat as she walked in, which she answered with a slight nod. She walked straight to the bar, leaned over and grabbed a tumbler and a bottle of whiskey. She dragged her glass through the ice bin, taking secret pleasure in breaking the rules. Old Waverly used the ice scoop, but New Waverly didn’t give a shit.

          She swung the bottle of whiskey back and forth at her side as she headed toward the pool tables. She didn’t even put the bottle down after pouring her first drink; it wasn’t in her glass longer than the time it took to swirl it twice. The second went down even faster. She finally put the bottle down after she pour the third glass. She watched it swirl slowly in the glass; once, twice, three times before she took a long, slow sip. She stared down at the bronze liquid in her glass, willing it to fix everything. Whiskey always seemed to work for Wynonna, but it sure didn’t feel like everything was getting better. She quickly downed the rest of the drink and started to rack the balls.

“So that’s where my open bottle of whiskey went. I thought maybe Martin nabbed it before I could cut him off.”

“Sorry Shorty. I’ll pay for it. Just not now because my purse is at Gus’ place and I didn’t want to go back and get it.”

“I’m not worried about the money Waverly. I can always take it out of your paycheck, but heavens knows you deserve more than you make in tips around here. I’m worried about you drinking like prohibition starts tomorrow.”

“I’ve the world’s shittiest day Shorty, don’t judge me.”

          Waverly had yet to look up from the table. She had cleared all the solids and was working her way through the stripes. Shorty just watched her clear the rest and call the 8-ball pocket. As she finally looked at Shorty, she saw two glasses of whiskey in his hands; one hand outstretched. She gratefully took the glass and came to lean against the table next to Shorty.

 

“So what do you do when Wynonna comes in like this? I’m new to the don’t-give-a-shit, going to recklessly drink my pain away thing.”

“I wait. Sometimes it takes one drink, sometimes 5 or 6, but she always talks when she’s ready.”

“You’re the only one that’s ever believed in her; thought she could be more than the screw up kid.”

“Except for you.”

“I lost faith that she’d ever come home; that she’d ever be my sister again. Now she’s here and I’m scared she’s going to leave again. Any time she comes home late or there’s radio silence, I’m sure she’s run again and left me behind.”

“Is that why you’re drinking all my whiskey?”

“No. But it’s something I just admitted to myself; right around the time I sunk the 8-ball. Something Wynonna taught me to do way back when.” She finished off glass number four, feeling the lovely floating feeling that usually meant it was time to stop while she could still walk in a straight line.

“So if it’s not your sister, what has you drinking like there’s no tomorrow?”

“I just got some really…shitty news. What’s worse than shitty? ‘cuz that just doesn’t seem like a strong enough word…” Waverly turned back to the table to rack them up again. It was too much to talk about this and look at Shorty. There was a kindness on his face that made her feel like she was going to loose it any second.

“Is it cancer?” Waverly shook her head, not looking up. “Champ? I’ll kill that boy! I told him if he ever cheated on you again, I’d make it impossible for him to do it a third time.”

Waverly finally looked up to find more anger on Shorty’s face than she’d ever seen. She just shook her head, turned back to the table, sent the cue ball flying and said, “Champ isn’t worth the whiskey.”

“So you’re not sick, and it’s not that boy messing around on you again… Wanna clue me in? ...Usually when Wynonna get quiet like this, I call you or Gus to fill in the blanks and get her home…”

“Don’t call Wynonna. I don’t know if I can face her right now. Or Gus really.”

“What’d you do Waverly? You know I’d never judge. You’re allowed to mess up from time to time; everyone does.”

“It’s not what I did. It’s what Ward did. And how little he cared about me.”

“That’s not – “

Waverly cut in nearly yelling, “Please don’t give me a spiel about how much he loved me.” She lowered her voice, turned back to Shorty and added: “I’ve already heard it. Twice. And we both know it’s not true.”

“Can I finish my sentence now?” Waverly felt a bit like a child again; being scolded by her adopted uncle. She nodded, but kept looking at the ground.

“I was going to say that that’s not on you. Ward was a son of a bitch. He had a soft spot for Willa, or maybe a weird obsession, I’m not sure, but otherwise… He didn’t care about a damn thing. What ever he did… It’s not on you. Ward’s the only person I’ve ever met that didn’t fall under your charm Waverly. There was something broken in that man.”

“Yeah, well…now I’m left dealing with his mess.”

          She could feel the tears welling up in her eyes, but she refused to let them fall. She poured two more fingers of the whiskey and took a big gulp. Shorty watched her for a minute as she turned back towards the table. He gave her shoulder a light squeeze as she surveyed the table and then headed back to the bar.

 

* * *

 

          Wynonna’s first instinct was to punch something. Her second instinct was to find Gus’ stash of whiskey. But her third instinct was actually productive; find Dolls. Dolls knew everything, or at least acted like he did. If anyone could fix it, it was him. Also he had the fancy technology that could fix the blurry smudges. Maybe the smudges would tell her how to fix it.

          She vaguely remembers driving to the station; and sending some sort of snarky comment Nedley’s way (had to keep up appearances, even if she felt like the world was crashing down around her). She’s fairly certain Dolls said something when she came in the room, but she made a beeline for the scanner. She only realized that she didn’t know how to work it when she got there. She gripped the paper in both hands and stared at the machine, willing it to tell her what buttons to push to even turn it on. Then she swore. Like a sailor. And threw the cup of pens at the wall. Which really isn’t fair to the cup of pens, but also felt really satisfying. She was so lost in her anger and frustration that she didn’t hear Dolls talking to her, or notice him walking up behind her. What she did notice is the gentle way he put his hand on her back, in between her shoulder blades, and gently grabbed the paper out of her hands. He took a step away and slowly read the page in his hands. Wynonna found herself watching him, trying to understand how screwed they were by read his face. His face was stuck in that annoyingly neutral expression she hated so much, and he seemed to be reading at sloth pace. And as cute as sloths were, and they’re fucking adorable, she needed speed or she was going to go insane.

 

“Unfortunately, this looks legitimate. I can’t seem to find the name of the man that made the deal, although that could be what is smudged down near the bottom. We’ll need to digitally enhance the document and try to and restore the smeared ink, but so far I don’t see any obvious loopholes. As far as I can tell, it’s legal and binding. There are two signatures (one obviously Ward’s, the other one indecipherable) and it’s even notarized. Theoretically, the contract would end if one of the parties dies…”

“So if we kill the bastard?”

“The contract is voided; one party can’t uphold their part of the deal.”

“So we shoot the guy right between the eyes and send his ass back to hell.”

“Except that we don’t have a name, only a really sloppy signature. I’ll work on cleaning up the page and see if we can get a name, but until we have a name, the best we can hope for is finding a loophole.”

“Fuck.”

          Wynonna was tempted to throw something else, but didn’t really want to piss off the person she needed to help her, so she turned and walked out the door. It was time she found her sister and gave her the news. And if Waverly was true to her last name, then she knew exactly where to find her.

 

* * *

 

          Waverly saw, or rather heard, Wynonna enter the bar and quickly finished the rest of the glass. She grabbed the bottle again, filled her glass way above where she was supposed to pour (forget about measuring in fingers, she didn’t have enough to measure this glass) and took a big drink.  

          She was tempted to run, but she’d never been a coward and she wasn’t going to start now. She squared her shoulders and glared at her sister, daring her to come any closer. It must’ve worked, because Wynonna faltered, before ducking her head and walking towards her. Definitely not a good sign.

“So I’m screwed huh?”

          Waverly didn’t even wait for the answer, just turned at walked back to the table; back to her drink and her lovely state of denial. For once in her life, she didn’t care about tomorrow, wasn’t planning ahead or being the responsible sister; it was her turn to let loose and embrace the anger.

“Dolls is on it. He doesn’t say much but he was pretty pissed. He had already started scanning it before I left. He’s going to clear up the smudges and find the loophole. There’s always a loophole.”

“But he didn’t find it yet. So I’m still screwed. Great.”

“Well, technically, it’s official. Two signatures and it’s notarized. BUT if one of the parties were to die…”

“So Peacemaker can fix it?”

“Absolutely! Sort of… We couldn’t find a name, so we don’t know who we’re looking for. But as soon as we do, I’m totally putting a bullet right between his eyes! We can do it together. Epic speech. Maybe a stanky leg for good measure. Totally going to fix this. Yup! Definitely under control…”

“Sounds like you’re trying to convince yourself.”

Wynonna’s bravado was swapped for something softer, something more sincere. She pulled Waverly into a hug, and held her as tight as she could. “I’m going to fix this Waverly. I promise.”

Waverly pulled away. “And I’m going to drink the rest of that bottle.” She chugged the rest of the glass and nearly tripped over her own feet trying to get back to the bottle. Wynonna snagged it off the table and stashed it back behind the bar.

“Hey! I wasn’t done with that!”

“Let’s get you to bed baby girl. Even Earps need to stop sometime.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Enter Nicole.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a lot of borrowed scenes from the show. I'm sorry. Y'all know who wrote the good stuff - not trying to take credit.  
> Also, I'm posting this after a week or crazy long work days and a happy hour to celebrate it all being done, so I can't promise it won't need some editing. But I promised my self I'd post it Friday, no matter wha. It's the first unbeta'd chapter so...

 

         Being the new kid was always hard. Being the new kid in a small town, where everyone was wary of new comers was even harder. And being alone, living alone and having a job that often meant you were the barer of bad news or a ticket or a night in jail, was just icing on the cake. To say she was lonely was an understatement. The fact that all her coworkers had families to go home to or friends they had known since childhood inviting them to dinner, just made it that much harder to find human company. She loved her cat, but she had started talking to her and was dangerously close to falling into crazy cat lady territory.

         Despite the loneliness, she thought she was putting up a good front. Or at least if she wasn’t, the mind-your-own-business vibe of the station would keep anyone from mentioning it. She definitely wasn’t expecting to get called into Nedley’s office and called out.

“So. Nicole. You’ve been here a couple of weeks now. How are you settling in?”

          “Great!” Nicole answered a little  _ too _ enthusiastically. “I finally got all the IKEA furniture set up. Have a few screws left over which is a little disconcerting, but it’s starting to look like a house. And I’m not getting lost as much anymore. Still sometimes on the outskirts, but in my defense, there aren’t any street signs out there.”

         Nedley cleared his throat, hesitated and finally asked, “So…you making any friends? Outside of work I mean.”

         Nicole froze and tried to figure out the roundabout way of saying no. “Well… There aren’t a lot of people my age around here and Mrs. Weatherly is the only one that’s invited me to dinner or anything, but I think that’s just because I’m tall and she needed her smoke detector batteries changed.”

         Nicole knew she was rambling, but couldn’t seem to stop. “But it’s ok, because I’ve found a couple of cool hiking trails and my cat really likes her new feather toy I brought home last week…” Nicole trailed off as realized what she was saying. She was definitely not building a case for herself, unless she was trying to sound really lame. She pursed her lips tight and tried to stop herself from digging herself even deeper into the hole she just dug herself.

          “This town doesn’t generally trust new people. But so far you’ve been steady and fair. People will see that and they’ll come around. Have you been to Shorty’s yet?”

“Um, no. I didn’t think I’d be welcome. People get pretty quiet when I come by…”

          “If people are going to start seeing you as one of us, they need to see you trying to fit in. Everyone goes to Shorty’s at least once in a while. And it’s a great way to get a feel for what’s going on in the town.”

“I don’t really drink.”

“AA?”

“No. I’ve just never really had the time or reason.”

          “Well now’s your time, and friends are your reason. Nothing makes friends like a shared bottle of whiskey or a round of beers on your tab. While you’re there, introduce yourself to Waverly Earp. She’s the heart of this town and she’ll be your first friend around here. Just be nice, smile and she’ll introduce you to everyone you need to know.” 

“Where do I find Waverly?”

          “Your break is coming up. Head to Shorty’s. She ought to be in by now. I’d go for a coffee, not a beer right now. We’re not that small a town.”

         Nedley phrased it like a question, but Nicole knew she’d be heading to Shorty’s for her break. It might not be too bad; she could end up with a friend. It might be nice to actually have someone to cook for. She’d gotten too dependent on take-out. Even though she loved to cook, it wasn’t the same without someone to share it with. And she hadn’t cooked anything more complicated than homemade mac and cheese since she’d gotten here.

 

* * *

 

 

         To say that Waverly was distracted that morning was a bit of an understatement. She had opened the bar so many times that it was practically muscle memory at this point. So what if she might have broken that glass jumping at a shadow, or hit one of the taps just the wrong way; the beer fountain drenching her shirt was enough to snap her out of her head. She grabbed the closest towel and unsuccessfully tried to dry her shirt. “Perfect!”

          “I didn’t know Shorty’s had wet t-shirt competitions.” Waverly looked up to see a tall red-head leaning against the door frame, dressed head to toe in uniform, Stetson in hand. She was smiling with laughter, but it didn’t seem cruel, more like amusement. “You ok?” 

          “Yeah. I, uh” she gestured with the towel, before realizing that she hadn’t actually answered the question. “Just a bit jumpy. Had a, a crazy night.”

          “Sorry I wasn’t here to see it.” The deputy sidled up to the bar and leaned in. “I’ve been, uh I’ve been meaning to introduce my self. I’m Nicole, Nicole Haught,” she said extending her hand. “And you’re Waverly Earp. Quite a popular girl around here.” 

“Oh you know, it’s all in the smile and wave.” 

         Waverly found herself drawn to Nicole’s eyes. And if they locked eyes for a little too long, it was only because she was trying to figure out what color Nicole’s eyes were. Brown with maybe a hit of yellow. She quickly broke eye contact, swapping the wet towel for a dry towel off the stack, trying to work on her shirt again, suddenly all too aware of exactly how wet she had gotten.

“Can I get a cappuccino to go?”

          “Oh, I’m really sorry. Um, we’re not actually – open yet so…” Had Waverly been in top form, she probably would have remembered that the coffee machine was already on and probably ready to go.

“Oh, right. My bad! It’s just… when I see something I like, I don’t want to wait.” 

         There were those eyes again. She could feel them straight through to her toes. She opened her mouth to respond, but nothing came out. Her brain didn’t start working again until Nicole broke the eye contact.

 

“And your front door was open, so…”

          “Right.” Waverly looked around for anything to save her from her embarrassing inability to function. “Oh – I’m sopping wet.” Not a smooth save, and Nicole’s gaze kept her unsettled and struggling to speak. “I keep telling Shorty to fix the darn taps. Sorry, do you mind just, uh?” She mimed covering her eyed. “Oh, right!” 

         Nicole mimed the same thing back and turned her back to the bar. Waverly turned away and tried to quickly pull her tank up and over her head. Just like everything she’d done since the deputy walked through the door, it was not as smooth as she imagined in her mind. Her hair caught on one of the useless tiny buttons that were more decorative than functional, keeping her from being able to pull the top all the way over her head. She tried to lower her shirt back down, but it was hooked on her elbows and the angle kept her from being able to wriggle free. 

          “Oh! Oh crap! Um, uh, uh, Officer? I’m stuck, so please.” Waverly saw Nicole hesitate to turn and look at her and was thankful for her chivalry, but chivalry wasn’t going to get her out of this stupid tank. Nicole finally registered what she said and the stupid predicament Waverly had managed to get herself in and quickly came around the bar. 

“Here, let me help you with that.” The two women struggled to get the shirt over her head, “I got you.”

          “Good job you’re not some guy, right? Or this would be really, really awkward.” Waverly added, instantly blushing when she saw the way the officer was looking at her. She could  _ feel _ her eyes on her body, but it felt different than when Champ or his buddies looked at her. She wasn’t sure why it felt different, but it felt less predatory drooling and more admiration. Maybe that’s just how girls looked at each other. She felt her heart beating like it did at the end of her morning run and it only sped up when Nicole looked at her bashfully, through her eye lashed. She swore she could still feel where her hands brushed against her skin as she helped her out of her shirt. This is why she needed to get out more, venture out of Purgatory. It had been so long since she’d met someone new that she became a flustered mess. That had to be why she was blushing, right? But she could do this; she could calm down and hold a conversation like a normal human being. 

“Um… I-I owe you one.”

“Alright. Well, how about you buy me that cup of coffee? How about tonight?”

“Oh, I can’t”

“No?”

“I mean, I’d love to – like, like to, uh, but I have plans.”

“Yeah.”

“I’m a planner. I like to know what I’m doing at least two, or three, days in advance.”  _ Way to get it together Waverly. _ “I’m in a relationship. With a boy. Man!”

“A boy-man. Yep, I’ve been there. It’s the worst.” Nicole walked around the edge of the bar and picked up her hat. “Ok. Well, some other time.”

         She pulled a business card out of her pocket and threw it down on the bar. As she turned and walked towards the door, she threw over her shoulder, “I mean it.” The smile she threw with it about short-circuited Waverly’s brain. She leaned against the bar as she watched the officer leave; reaching for the card as soon as the door was closed and the spell was broken. 

“Officer Haught. Of course.” Fitting. 

 

* * *

 

         Dolls and Wynonna had been staring at the same files for the last half hour and she was slowly going crazy. They weren’t getting anywhere new and she really couldn’t deal with anymore of his bull shit anymore. This was a whole different kind of cranky she was reaching – worse than driving through rush hour cranky or toddler up past their bed time cranky. He’s silence, only occasionally interrupted by grumbling, is grating on her nerves. And she’s so tired she could barely think; all the coffee in the world wasn’t going to chase away this kind of tired. 

“Look, I’ve been attacked four times in the last three days, ok? The homestead, Shorty’s… I need a safe place to regroup and sleep.”

“As long as you don’t leave town.” Another dig about her running had her patience tested, yet again. She was opening her mouth to spit out, what would most likely have been a very snarky comment, when there was a knock on the door. The door opened before either of them had a chance to react.

“Hey! Check it out: another piping hot delivery from… wow, ‘CSIS’” the officer said as she walked through the door, eyes glued on the box in her hands. 

“Oh, I’m Nicole. Officer Haught. Y’all getting settled in alright?” Before either of them had a chance to respond, she continued, “What is all this stuff?”

“Nice to meet you Officer Haught. If you ever enter my offices again without knocking, I’m going to have you arrested for treason. Ok?” The glare Dolls sent the officer should have had the officer shaking in her boots, but instead just seemed to piss her off.

“Nice to meet you too.” She mumbled sarcastically, not  _ really  _ caring if they heard her. She left the room with a door slam that was just shy of petulant. Wynonna watched her leave and then turned to Dolls, barely hiding her annoyance.

“She did knock, Dolls. You sure you don’t want to threaten her death?”

“Penalty for treason is death. It was implied.”

“I know.” She definitely hadn’t known that.

 

* * *

 

 

         Wynonna really didn’t need any extra shit in her life right now, but when she went Waverly’s apartment, she found some asshole sifting through her stuff. Revenants  _ and _ thieves! Was nothing off limits?

“Hey! I got all  _ 34 _ of your texts!” Waverly said, still on her phone as she walked up to Wynonna. 

“Your apartment’s been broken into; you can’t go back,” Wynonna grumbled as they walked through the house. 

“ Oh, what?! - But my yoga mat is there!” 

 “Well, it's not safe, and neither is Gus' or Shorty's or the back of Champ's pickup.”  She added a little extra emphasis when she added an “Ewww!” Her tone changed as she continued, “This place used to be. Remember when Mama made these wind chimes? Do you remember? This was a home then, you know? Never saw anything scarier than an albino gopher.”

 “Until the attack where half of us died.” Waverly’s tone changed towards the bubbly when she added, “Oh, hey, Marshal Dolls!”

As matter of fact as he always was, Dolls started right in with the questions. “How old were you when the revenants invaded the homestead?”

“12.”

“6.”

“And they'd never done it before?” Dolls asked as he continued to study the room.

“Maybe they were scared - of our dad.”

He zeroed in on the wind chimes. “Or physically unable” he starts as he flicks open his knife. “to step foot on Earp land.”

“What? Hey, that’s-“ Waverly tries to interrupt as Dolls cuts one of the chimes off.

“Ammonite. This mineral found around here?”

“Unless you can smoke it, I really wouldn't know.”

“You want a safe place? This stuff might explain why your ancestors built this house here.”

 “A house that doesn't have running water and smells like skunk hiney?” Waverly’s critique was cut short by a glare. “Yeah, I'll - I'll be in my car.” She added as she backed out of the room, with one last glance at Wynonna.

Dolls gave the room one last look and put his knife away. “You two look around the homestead.

See if you see anything unfamiliar, something occult-ish.”

“Occult? That is so specifically vague.”

Dolls picks pictures up off the table, looking at them as he says, “You want a safe place to lay your head for you and your sister? Keep your eyes open, Earp.”

“For trouble?”

 “That too,” He says as he hands her the pictures and walks from the room. Wynonna runs her hand along the edge of the picture; very obviously draw a long time ago, by a child. The stick figures were holding hands and playing; clearly labeled: Wynonna and Waverly.

 

* * *

 

 

         Waverly took Dolls’ departure as a sign that she could leave the car. She found Wynonna holding papers that she quickly dropped on the table as Waverly walked in the room. Waverly wanted to snoop, but she knew the look on Wynonna’s face meant ‘don’t push it’. Instead, she got straight to the point. 

“OK, so what exactly are we looking for?”

“Something strange and hard to explain.” Wynonna replied. “Like your relationship with Champ.” She teased as they walked. 

“Pfft! You're hardly qualified to give relationship advice.” Waverly had missed this; she’d missed the banter with Wynonna. It was nice to have her around again.

The sisters started digging around through the stuff left at the homestead, looking for something ‘occult-ish’. Waverly was searching through the drawers in the dilapidated cabinet when Wynonna found the height marks against the doorframe. Wynonna’s voice went from excited to tender as she ran her hands across the marks. 

“Look, Waverly! Willa, age 10 Wynonna, age 7.”

Waverly’s voice was neither excited, nor tender; it hovered somewhere between sad and bitter as she said, “Hmm I'm not on there, am I?”

She had to turn away from her sister to hide her disappointment. She’d never admit it, but for a moment, she had hoped her name was somewhere on there too. Wynonna hadn’t even noticed that there were only two names on the doorframe.

“Probably rubbed off.” She mumbled, still looking at the marks; trying to convince herself just as much.

 “Yeah. It's what I used to tell myself.” Waverly added before leaving the room to look elsewhere. This time, she wasn’t able to keep the bitter out of her voice. The girls worked silently for a while, both lost in thought: Waverly thinking of all the things she missed out on – the life she wish she’d been included in; Wynonna reflecting on how many of her memories didn’t include Waverly at all. 

 

* * *

 

 

The search for the talisman suddenly became urgent as a revenant descended on the house. The girls’ frantic searching was interrupted by a call from Dolls. 

“It's not ammonite, - it's ammolite.”

“Pfft! Amateur mistake.” Wynonna couldn’t help but roll her eyes. Dolls didn’t even register her interruption and continued rattling off information. 

“Prized by the Blackfoot for its ability to ward off evil. - which it probably did when you guys were growing up. So I looked at the survey, and the homestead's built on a bedrock of the stuff.”

“Whoa, Dolls, slow down.”

“Remember that occult something I told you to find? It's a talisman made from vertebrae and bound by iron twine.”

“Ew! We haven't found anything like that. It'll be in the ground; buried to counteract the ammolite.”

“Dolls, the homestead is 10 acres; we can't dig for it all ni- Night seems to have fallen awful early.”

“It’s night there?” 

“I’ve got to go.”

“Find that talisman!” Dolls called as Wynonna hung up the phone. She looked out the window as Waverly walked up next to her. 

“What did Dolls say about the talisman?”

“Huh? Wha-“

“What did he say about the talisman?”

“Uhm… isn’t it awfully early to be dark?”

“Wynonna! The talisman…”

“Oh, right. It’s vertebrae wrapped in iron twine I guess. Has to be buried, not that that’s helpful…”

Waverly froze. Suddenly a memory surfaced; a man’s voice; a strange request.

> “ _ Buried during the witching hour. Perfect time to make a hole - for our friend.” _
> 
> _ “Will this really - make them happy?  _
> 
> _ “This will guarantee you all get what you deserve.” _

 

 “Bobo!” She called. Wynonna scrunched up her face, thoroughly confused. “The name of my imaginary friend when I was growing up: Bobo!” she said as she started shifting through her old drawings still on the table. She held up the picture of her and her imaginary friend and waved it at her sister. She studied the picture for a moment before adding, “And I'm starting to think that he wasn't so imaginary.”

“Ohhh God, that's super weird. Tell me you remember where he buried it!”

“He didn’t.  _ I _ did. He said it had to be an Earp! That if I buried the talisman in the pet cemetery, it would stop Mom and Dad from fighting!”

 “Shit. That’s deep kid.” Wynonna said grabbing her sister’s hand. The sad look on Waverly’s face said it all. Wynonna had always thought her sister was too young to be bothered by it all, but that was the naive thought of a child. She wanted to say something, anything, but she didn’t trust herself not to make it worse. So instead, she gave Waverly’s hand one more squeeze and slipped back into work mode.

“We’ve got to find that talisman Baby Girl. This nighttime during the day, plague shit is setting off all of my warning bells. Whatever’s coming is bad.”

“We have to go outside.”

“Grab your shot gun; we don’t know what’s out there.”

The next sound was the cocking of a shotgun, followed by the door slamming.

 

* * *

 

 

“Move your butt, girl!”

“It's here, beside Pikachu the hamster's final resting place.”

They couldn’t see what was coming, but they both felt the urgency. Wynonna had Peacemaker out, pointing out into the darkness. Waverly was frantically digging in the frozen ground, trying to get the talisman. Wynonna nearly shot a hole in Dolls as he rolled up to help. They stood back to back, watching into the darkness; pair of glowing eyes were slowly approaching in the darkness, when Waverly called out, “Got it!”

“You need to get it off your property!”

“Batter up!” She called as she flung it with her best softball pitch. She laughed at her own joke as it sailed over the fence. “Oh  _ come _ on! That was good!”

She wiped her hands on her shorts as she turned back towards the house. The sun was bright in the sky, the darkness sent flying with the talisman. Wynonna and Dolls followed her a few steps behind as they all walked back towards the house. Dolls placed a soft hand on Wynonna’s arm as they reached his SUV, stopping her before she got to the porch. 

“The homestead’s safe now; talisman is gone,” she says as she turns towards him. “What’s next?”

“Time to make it a home, Wynonna.”

 

* * *

 

Wynonna walked back in the house and looked around; really looked around this time. It was dusty, there were holes in the walls and broken furniture, but it was home. It had been a safe haven when they were kids. They just needed to clean it up a bit and it could be that again.

She picked up a chunk of broken glass off the floor and placed it in the old ash bucket. She picked up another as she pulled the ash bucket closer. The repetitive motion felt, almost therapeutic. She felt Waverly next to her and she gladly took the hand broom she held out. They worked together to sweep all the glass off the floor and into the bucket. As she stood and carried the metal bucket out to the porch, she made a list of all the things they needed to do to get their home back to a home.

“You’re really sticking around, huh?”

 “I’ve got a job to do.” Wynonna looks around; at all the memories. She stood quietly for a moment, but Waverly didn’t rush her. “We’ve got a job to do.” She adds as she turns to face her sister. Waverly’s face could barely contain all her excitement, but Wynonna understood the true weight of that sentence. Wynonna grabbed the matches next to the fireplace. 

“What’d you say about a good, old-fashioned cook-out?”

 

* * *

 

 

“Oooh! Do I get a badge? A code-name? Oh, my God, a flamethrower?”

“You will be a Black Badge consultant. And you move in here with me.”

“Long as I get to pick the new color scheme. I'm thinking lots of pink.”

“Just try it, kid.” 

“Oh, come on, we could make it nice.”

They both turned back towards the fire, but Wynonna could feel her sister practically vibrating from excitement.  After a few minutes, Wynonna got up and walked back to the porch, finding the whiskey she had hidden under the bench. She poured them both a bit into the cups sitting there, while Waverly slowly walked back towards the house. The whiskey tasted faintly like the coffee that had been in the cups earlier that day, but neither minded. 

Waverly began picking at the blanket she still had wrapped around her, hesitating for a moment before saying: “I've been blaming you for what happened to Daddy, to Willa.” She looked up at her sister. “I was the one who planted the talisman. It's my fault.”

Wynonna couldn’t handle meeting her eyes, seeing the hurt and sadness there. She’d focus on her own anger; it was easier. “Bobo tricked you.”

“Still” Waverly said looking back down at the floor.

 Wynonna slammed the side of her fist into the doorframe, before sagging into it. She leaned her shoulder into the doorframe.

“When I find your not-so-imaginary friend, oh, honey, I'm gonna make him pay.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More of our favorite deputy! And maybe a way out?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is about 50/50 borrowed/original because there's so much that still aligns with cannon. We'll veer off at some point.

The sisters found themselves very busy over the next few days. They were slowly cleaning up the house, with borrowed tools and all the cleaner Waverly could sneak from Gus’. True to her word, Waverly was working hard to make it look nice. They trashed chairs too broken for Champ to fix and the couch that had a lovely family of squirrels inside. Waverly even managed to convince Champ and her friend Chrissy to help them paint a bit. Wynonna kept bringing home furniture from God knows where, but Waverly couldn’t bring herself to mind. They were slowly filling up the space, making it home.

Waverly brought her stuff from her apartment and started to settle into the room she had shared with Wynonna as a child. Wynonna refused to take Daddy’s room or Willa’s; said there were too many memories. (Waverly had offered to share or even let Wynonna have their old room, but Wynonna could bring herself to let Waverly have Daddy or Willa’s rooms either). Instead, Wynonna dragged the old bed out of Gus’ attic and set up in the old dining room. They hung a curtain and Wynonna unpacked her bag into an old dresser (not that that took very long). It didn’t look like much, but felt like home.

 

* * *

 

Waverly slowly started working for Black Badge, but only as a researcher. She shared all she knew with Dolls and Wynonna, only to be shut down when it came time for the action to start.

“These’ll be great resources,” Dolls says as he starts packing up her research.

“Sorry. Uh, I spent years on that research, so –“

Waverly was interrupted by a knocking on the BBD office door. They scrabbled to hide the information before Dolls told the knocker to enter. Waverly really tried to keep cool, but she never was very good at being sneaky. And here she was with a pile of evidence, proving the existence of demons, and she knew it would be obvious she was hiding something. Only the person entering the room was the red head from the bar: Officer Haught.

“Hey. You asked to be alerted whenever things come over the wire that seem…unusual?”

          Dolls managed to be marginally friendlier to the officer this time as he responded, “Yeah, we’re coming. Thanks.” But that’s as far as his manners extended; “Waverly, you’re dismissed.”

Waverly was totally keeping it together (a 5 on the suspicious-meter) until Nicole looked at her and smiled. It was a soft smile, like Waverly was the only one in the room, and it she could even see it in her eyes. All of the sudden, she was flustered for a whole different reason. She had thought that maybe the red-head had a bit of a crush on her, and this was pretty strong supporting evidence. She wasn’t interested (she had Champ after all) but it made her almost bashful, the way Nicole looked at her. And it was easy to get lost in those eyes and the soft smile; to relish in the fact that someone had a crush on her. Because, who around here would dare have a crush on an Earp?

If Nicole and Waverly thought they were being subtle with their adoring looks and quiet flirting, they were wrong. Dolls often missed social cues from the people around him, but missing this would be like missing a freight train passing right in front of you. He looked back and forth between the two for a second before it got too awkward for him to stand there any longer; neither of them was going to break eye contact, so he was going to have to do it. He grabbed his jacket and pushed past the officer, knowing she would follow him out. And she did. But not with out one last shy, adoring look at Waverly. Wasn’t Waverly with Champ though? He must have missed something.

 

* * *

 

“Oh hey, Waverly! You done for the day?”

Nicole was sitting at the front counter, filling out paperwork and definitely not watching Black Badge’s door. And she definitely had not smoothed her braid out when she heard the steps heading toward the door. And she certainly was not an hour late taking her lunch break so that maybe she could intercept Waverly and work on making Waverly her new friend. And wanting to be friends with Waverly was all Nedley’s idea and not at all related to the warm surge she felt in her chest when Waverly walked by. Or the way her stomach leaped into her chest at the sound of Waverly’s laugh. Or, how when Waverly looked at her with a smile, she felt like that bashful baby gay she was in high school; the blush, hiding behind her eyelashes, uncontrollable smile bit her friends used to tease her about.

“Yup. They don’t need me any more. Just steal my research and kick me out. I could be helpful, you know!?”

“So it’s not just me,” Nicole replied under her breath. “Going on my break!” she yelled out to no one in particular. Lonnie was around her somewhere. It’d be fine. Waverly hadn’t stopped walking since she left BBD offices, and Nicole had to jog to get around the counter and catch her before she walked out the front door.

“So Waverly, you want to grab lunch with me? My treat! It’s just, I don’t really know anyone around here and I thought you could, maybe, fill me in on some Purgatory history. Nedley said you’re the one to ask…”

Waverly finally slowed down and stopped to look at Nicole. The way she tilted her head to the side reminded Nicole of a puppy, and it was just as adorable. Waverly seemed to ponder her proposition for a moment before taking a deep breath and plastering on a smile.

“Lunch sounds good. But you don’t have to pay. I seem to remember owing you a coffee.” Waverly’s smile seemed a bit more genuine now, but Nicole wasn’t sure Waverly was actually interested in lunch.

“We don’t have to, if you don’t want! I don’t want to pressure you in to something you don’t want to do, especially since it seems like maybe you have a rough day.”

“Honestly – I think grabbing lunch with you is exactly what I need to turn this day around. Have you been to Nancy’s yet? She makes her own bread. Seven different types too! And her desserts are heavenly.”

Nicole only processed part of what Waverly was talking about. It’s not her fault that her brain was stuck on Waverly’s previous comment. Waverly was so bubbly and happy and it was contagious! And her smile seemed to broaden and deepen as she talked; like maybe lunch with Nicole _was_ exactly what she needed. Nicole felt like she was floating on air as they walked down the sidewalk. Every once in a while, Waverly would look up at her and give her _that_ smile; the real, honest smile that involved her whole face; not just her mouth, but her eyes and her cheeks as well. She hadn’t known Waverly that long, but she knew that wasn’t her everyday, smile and wave sort of smile. It was something else, that seemed to only belong to her. She knew it didn’t, she wasn’t naïve, but she still spent the rest of the walk to the restaurant  stuck in the class debate: was she flirting or is she just nice?

 

* * *

 

“Did you get a chance to look at the document I sent you?... Yeah, I know some of the information was redacted… you’re not missing anything vital – it’s just protecting identities… it’s Black Badge. Of course there’s a supernatural element. But it doesn’t affect the terms of the contract… yes I’m sure. The subject of the contract is supernatural, but the contract is a normal legal contract – which is why I’m calling you… I know you’re really busy, but you’re the best. If anyone can find a way out, it’d be you… Molly, no. I’m not involved with the woman in the contract…or the man… She just works for me from time to time… Just tell me there’s a loophole – a way out. I scoured the document, but I couldn’t find it… No, we can’t fake her death. We need her around and these people have connections, beyond the town… that’s the only thing you’ve got?... I know better than what I had before. What do we need to do to make sure this is legal and truly voids the contract... You’re brilliant. And I owe you. Big time… Thanks Molly.”

 

* * *

 

“You have to try the bread here. It’s heavenly! And her veggie sandwich is the best. She adds a cream cheese, dill sauce and melted provolone (before the veggies of course). But you have to know to ask for it toasted.”

Waverly and Nicole were studying the menu in Nancy’s Home-Style Bakery. Well, Nicole was studying and Waverly was rambling. She kept trying to stop herself, but she loved the bakery and that excitement led to uncontrollable rambling. It didn’t seem to bother Nicole. Champ usually tuned her out or made some sort of rude comment, but Nicole seemed to actually be listening.

“What about the grilled cheese? That’s usually my favorite, but I’m not sure about the tomato in the middle.”

“Excellent choice! She puts cream cheese along the bread before piling four different types of cheese on top and toasting it open face. The tomato is added in at the very end, right before she closes the sandwich. You can even get avocado if you ask nicely. Can’t go wrong with her grilled cheese!”

Nicole watched Waverly as she talked; watched the enthusiastic hand waving and the animated facial expressions, and tried really hard to convince herself that she wasn’t falling. Who was she kidding though? She could listen to Waverly talk all day and about anything and it would still seem fascinating. Definitely not falling.

She vaguely remembers ordering, or maybe Waverly ordered for her. Next thing she knew, she was sitting at a little table by the window and trying very hard not to get lost in Waverly’s eyes. It’s not her fault that they were the most beautiful eyes she’d ever seen. Waverly wasn’t fairing much better on her side of the table. For some reason, Nicole had her nervous and rambling. It was strange to be talking to someone who didn’t know her whole life story; she found herself telling story after story, and Nicole listened like it was the most interesting story she’d ever heard. Waverly realized halfway through the story of how she met, and then started dating, Champ when she realized how long it had been since she’d told a story without being interrupted. At the bar, people wanted short and sweet, and she was always being interrupted to fill a drink order. And Champ? Well, Champ hardly listened to her on a good day. And he never got her jokes, just stared at her for a moment and started tell his own story. She couldn’t really complain because she did the same thing; you can really only hear the story of his famous bull ride so many times…

Waverly cringed as she realized that she had actually made a joke about Ancient Greece in a conversation. But Nicole honest-to-God laughed and followed it up with a pun of her own. She about jumped out of her skin when Nicole’s phone started ringing and laughed herself nearly to tears as she heard her swearing as she hung up. She started frantically cleaning up her spot as she was apologizing.

“I’m so late! So, so, very late! I lost track of time and I was supposed to be back at the station 20 minutes ago. I’m so sorry Waverly. I need to get back before I lose my job.”

“Oh my God! I’m so sorry Nicole! I’ll clean up.”

“Thanks Waverly!” Nicole called as she headed out the door. Waverly looked back down at the table and started wrapping the leftover sandwiches. She looked up when the bell on the door rang again. Nicole was had the top half of her body leaning in the bakery, with a soft smile on her face.

“I had a really nice time Waverly.”

“Me too Nicole.”

 

* * *

 

No one had ever accused Champ of being the smartest man; or most reliable; or faithful… But one thing he was was predictable. And simple. In fact, all he wanted at the moment was a part for his truck. Which is why he and Shorty were searching through the local hardware store. Shorty needed a part to fix the taps and had tagged along.

“Yeah, it's just a two-inch clamp for my tow hook. Think it'll be expensive?”

“Less than the ring you owe Waverly.”

Shorty’s comment went over Champ’s head, like most comments did. One day he was going to have to introduce the boy to his shotgun and make him do what’s right by Waverly. She deserved better than that boy, but if she insisted on keeping him around, the least he could do is take care of her. She sure as hell didn’t need that boy, but she seemed determined to keep him around.

 

“Everybody on the ground!”

The next few minutes (hour?) went by in a blur. They were huddled together in the back while the men with guns were looking for something.

 

“The Black Badge Division has facilities outside the Ghost River Triangle, and if you harm one hair on my deputy's head, I guarantee you a fate much worse than death.”

They had Wynonna helping them, but they insisted on keeping a few extra hostages. Shorty had tried talking them down, tried to give them an out, but there was something not right about them. These weren’t ordinary men. Ward had always ranted to him about the demons among them. And Shorty wasn’t a stranger to the supernatural, but this was the first time he thought Ward might actually be telling the truth.

 

“What happened?”

“Shorty's hurt.”

“Just my angina acting up. You go into a surplus store, you're bound to come across a few tools.”

Wynonna convinced them to release most of the hostages, but they still needed three. If they were going to get out of this alive, they’d need a miracle.

“When they come back, we need to create a diversion. How do you feel about flashing the twins?”

Champ was not that miracle.

 

He knew things weren’t going to end well when they started killing each other. Thieves that turned on each other definitely weren’t going to leave any witnesses. He trusted Wynonna, even when everyone told him he shouldn’t, but he knew there wasn’t anything she could do this time.

“This seems to be going well.”

“Shut up!”

* * *

 

          Nicole hated voicemail. She hated leaving voicemails. She hated receiving voicemails. And right now, she hated how impersonal voicemail seemed.

“Hi Waverly. It’s Nicole - I mean Haught – Officer. Haught.” Off to a great start there, Nicole. Time to try again, “Man I wish I didn’t have to do this over the phone” she said quietly. She cleared her throat. “Um. There’s been an…incident, down at the hardware store. No one’s hurt!! No. But your sister has gotten herself into a bit of a jam. And maybe Champ too? I’m not sure. We don’t know much right now, but I’ll keep you updated… You should still have my number, or you can call the station…We’re not going to let anything happen to them Waverly.”

           Nicole was kicking the gravel at her feet, staring down and begging the ground to tell her the right thing to say. She wanted to be there for Waverly, hold her and tell her that everything was going to be ok.

“Just… just, um, call me when you get this? Or I’ll call you when we know something….I’m sorry Waverly.”

 

* * *

 

           Nicole hadn’t known Shorty and she didn’t really know why she was at the wake. The obvious reason was that Nedley had invited her and it hadn’t sounded optional. But it was more than that.  She just knew that she needed to check on Waverly; needed to know she was all right.

“Waverly. I’m so sorry.”

“I can’t believe he’s gone.”

           Nicole didn’t even think about it, she just reached for her hands, trying to provide a little comfort. She had a whole speech planned, but never got a chance to say any of it. She swallowed her words and released Waverly’s hands when Champ walked up. It wasn’t really her place to comfort Waverly, not when she had Champ right there. She watched with annoyance as he covered her face with kisses. Not because he was kissing her, but because he couldn’t see how little it was helping. And maybe there was a little jealousy there too.

           Nicole’s heart lept as Waverly reached for her hand again, and she couldn’t help the smile that came over her face when Waverly thanked her. For a moment, she almost forgot Champ was there.

“Hey, uh, I got your voicemail. About Wynonna. Thanks. That was really sweet.”

“Yeah, sure. Of course.”

           But he was there and she shouldn’t be; she shouldn’t be flirting with Waverly. So she walked away, and went back to work. Back to the case - something productive she could focus on.

 

“Hey, uh, any update on that time capsule murder?”

“Nedley knows I won't tell him, huh? It's unresolved. We're handing the case back over to metro.”

“Any connection to the kidnapping?”

“None.”

“Poor Shorty.”

“Yeah. We have his body, we're doing a full autopsy, but our best guess is the stress of the ordeal was too much for his heart condition.”

 

          Dolls was fairly certain that Nicole only heard half of what he was saying. The dreamy-eyed, far off look was a telltale sign, as was the abrupt change of subject.

“She said she was glad I called.”

“I'll bet.”  
  
Maybe…Maybe there was another solution to Waverly’s problem. He’d have to keep an eye on the Officer.

 

* * *

 

            After everything that had happened the last few days, all they really wanted was a little peace, even if it was only for the night. Now that they were back at the homestead, it felt like Wynonna was really settling in. Waverly had baked muffins as a way to christen the house and Wynonna had found the biggest bottle of Canadian Mist Waverly had even seen. They were on their porch, Wynonna perched up on the rail and Waverly siting on the bench wrapped up in a big fuzzy blanket.

“As much as I don’t want to kill this quiet moment, we need to talk about the contract.”

“Wynonna...”

“You can’t avoid it forever. If we don’t find a solution soon, you’re going to end up married to the enemy. And I don’t think we can run from this. The revenants can’t cross out of the triangle, but their money can. You’d be constantly running, looking over your shoulder. That’s no kind of life Waves!”

“Dolls said that all we’ve got to do is send the revenant back to hell and the contract is done! I don’t know why you’re worried.”

“Because we don’t have a name! How am I supposed to end the contract when we don’t even know who we’re looking for?! Huh?”

           Wynonna was pacing the porch now, trying to keep her anger in check. She turned her back to her sister, clenched her fists and took a deep breath. She just needed to rip the Band-Aid off, but she didn’t think she could do that looking her in the eyes.

“Dolls found another way; a way to get out of the contract, but you’re not going to like it.”

           Waverly stood, wrapped herself tighter in the blanket, and came to stand next to Wynonna, looking out over their land. They paused to enjoy the quiet for just a moment longer, before Wynonna started shifting anxiously. She cleared her throat and finally turned toward her sister.

“As far as we can tell, there’s no way out of this without you getting married.” Waverly started to interrupt, but Wynonna threw her hand up to stop her.

“Wait! There’s no way out without you getting married, but you don’t _have_ to marry this mystery jerk. If we can get you married before December, you legally wouldn’t be able to fulfill the contract. And since the revenants are probably assuming we still don’t know about the contract, we can just play dumb if they try to challenge it. Dolls had a friend look it over and they both think this is the only way we can circumvent the contract, short of killing the guy of course.”

“I’m not getting married Wynonna. I won’t do it! I won’t let somebody take that choice away from me! I won’t let other people control my life. He doesn’t get any say in my life after what he did. I won’t let him mess up my life any more than he already has!”

“So what are you going to do Waverly? Huh? Just magic this away? Or run and hide until it’s too late to do anything?”

          Wynonna knew she was loosing her cool, but she needed Waverly to understand the severity of the situation. “We found a way out! I know I’m hard on Chump, definitely not his biggest fan, but you guys have been together forever. And he’s dumb enough that he wouldn’t notice the weirdness around our family. We would just need to convince him to come live out here; maybe help convert the barn into a second house for me. I mean, your relationship seems inevitable anyways, and no one would be suspicious if you guys eloped…”

           She could feel Waverly pulling away, both physically and emotionally. Waverly looked like a small animal, and she was the person dumb enough to try and feed it peanuts; one wrong move and she’d bolt. “It’s an easy solution! Quick trip to the court house and you’re free and clear!”

“Free and clear?” Obviously Wynonna made that wrong move after all. “I’d only be permanently bound to the man, like… like, property or something!” And the small animal fled as quickly as her tiny legs would take her.

“Fuck!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In my defense, there's a time for good whiskey and then there's a time for the best cheap shit you can get....


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nicole is a hopeless gay, WayHaught share a meal, Tough Love and tears.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this was supposed to be Friday's chapter, but I was editing it today and remembered how much I love this chapter! Just wait until you read it - you'll understand by the end of the 3rd scene.
> 
> Again, I adapted 2 scenes from the show, but you'll know which ones.

         The sisters  _ finally _ had a chance to have a normal dinner in a normal, ordinary dinner. It was absolutely average and it was amazing. Wynonna would never admit it, but she had really missed Waverly. For a long time, she thought leaving Waverly was the best thing she could do for her. Now that she was back, she was starting to realize how much they both needed this, needed each other. It was the little moments she’d missed the most. Like teasing her sister about her dumbass boy friend. Waverly had been texting him the whole time, which made it fair game after all. And that happy little smirky-smile she got after her last notification chime just egged her on.

“Woop!”

         Waverly’s shocked laughter as Wynonna snatched her phone should have been a warning, but it was too late. Wynonna had already seen something you just can’t un-see. The face she made as she threw the phone back at her sister just made Waverly laugh harder. 

“Ugh! Ever hear of manscaping?”

          “Hey, that was meant for private eyes.” Waverly took one more bashful look as she responded to the message.

“Don’t tell me you’re back chomping at the Champ. Come on. He’s just so beneath you.”

          “Uh, yeah he is!” Waverly responds with an eyebrow wiggle and little hip thrusts under the table. She chuckled at Wynonna’s face as she picked her tea back up. 

“Gross dude. There’s more to life than crazy hot, toe-curling, out-of-body, back-into-body, angels-signing-Hallelujah sex.”

         Waverly’s face very quickly switched from smug to confused to inquisitive in seconds,“Woah, woah, wait. Hold up.” She leaned forward and whispered, “Who’s truck are you borrowing?”

“Please.” Wynonna replied, dismissively, trying to get out of answering the question. “I can get from here to there on my own horse power, thank you.”

         That didn’t deter Waverly in the slightest. “Wait, who is it? Is it Dolls?”

“Pft! Have you thought any more about the Champ thing?”

          “Ugh. Wynonna!” Waverly whined. “I really don’t want to talk about this right now. We’ve still got to find two of the seven. And that should really be our primary focus. In fact –“ She pulled photos out of her bag. “I found a few leads that seem promising.” 

“We’re going to have to talk about this some time Waverly. You have a solution to your problem, but you’re ignoring it.” She takes the photos and allows the conversation to be changed. For now.

 

* * *

 

 

          Waverly was back in BBD offices, research spread across the giant tables. She was working on adding more information to their giant corkboard. Without her notebook, she had to redo a lot of her work. It was slow going, but at least this time she had people that appreciated her work. And she finally felt like she had a purpose! She was making her way through her old files, trying to assemble it all back into a  _ new _ journal. She found a red leather book this time. There was something about a pretty journal that made the work just a little more fun. The only thing she didn’t like was the pain in her neck and shoulders that came from too much reading. 

          She jumped at the loud knocking on the office door. She frantically turned over the top of the stacks or closed the folders on the tables to hide any “classified” information. She closed the cabinet protecting her information web as she went to answer the door. She manages to calm herself down to  _ slightly _ flustered by the time she turns the knob.

“Hey Waverly!”

          Nicole’s smile lit up her entire face and Waverly couldn’t help but smile too. She didn’t know why, but it seemed like every time Nicole smiled at her, she got lost in those eyes. It took her way longer than it should have to respond and she felt herself blushing as she finally looked away. She cleared her throat and stepped aside.

“Hey Nicole. What brings you here? Crazy case? Old-timey relic?”

           “Nope. Just take out from our favorite bakery,” she said, holding up the bag of food in her hand. Waverly wasn’t sure how she had missed that smell.

“Jealous! I could kill for a sandwich right now!” Waverly rolled her head, popping her neck, and sighed. 

           “Well, will you promise not to kill me if I just give you the sandwich?” Nicole asked jokingly. She pulled a veggie sandwich out of the bag and handed it to Waverly, along with a bag of salt and vinegar kettle chips. “I promise I won’t judge your questionable taste in chips,” Nicole said with a smirk.

“You can’t give me your lunch!” Waverly tried to hand the sandwich back, but Nicole had already taken a couple of steps towards the door.

           “I’m not giving you my lunch” Nicole said laughing and shaking her head. She looked back at Waverly with a bashful grin and scratched the back of her neck. She held up the bag and added, “I have another sandwich in here –  decided to try the veggie this time. And some  _ proper _ chips.” She help up the cheddar cheese ruffles and waved them back and forth a few times. She started to walk back towards the door. “I’ll let you get back to your research, I know you’re super busy…”

“You do?”

           “Yeah. Lonnie said you got her around 8 am and I know you haven’t even taken a coffee break.”

“What time is it?”

           “1:30. I swapped with Lonnie at 9. Have been manning the front desk all day, but I haven’t seen you. It’s finally my lunch break and a sandwich just sounded really good.”

“Oh, wow! No wonder my back and neck are killing me. Any way… you want to eat together?” Waverly asked tentatively. “I – I mean, only if you want to! I was just thinking that, you know, you had a sandwich and I have a sandwich, thank you by the way, and I mean, we both need to eat, and why be lonely right?”

           “Sure. I’d like that. But maybe not, in here? I’m pretty sure Dolls’d kick my ass if he found me in here.” She said it with a laugh, but Waverly swore there was a hint of bitterness in her voice. 

 

* * *

 

 

          The girls walked down the hall to the break room and sat down at one of the round tables. Neither one really knew what to say, so they both unrolled their sandwiches and took turns stealing glances at the each other while they ate. Nicole finally broke the ice and started up a conversation about what there was to do in Purgatory. It’s a small town so the conversation was rather short, but they had no problem after that. Turns out that after the awkwardness passed, they had a lot to talk about. Nicole was genuinely interested in her history anecdotes and had an abundance of trivia to throw in the mix. Waverly decided that that was why she got so flustered around Nicole. She didn’t mean to sound conceited, but she spent a lot of time around people she was just,  _ so much smarter _ than. She wouldn’t let Wynonna call Champ dumb, but secretly, there were times when she thought it too. Not that being smart is all that matters! Champ was good at a lot of things…that didn’t involve high-level thinking. She never judged people for their occupation; she was a bartender after all. And Frankie was the only competition she had had for valedictorian, and he ran his father’s auto body shop. It actually took a lot of skill and computer know-how to fix computers these days. 

          She hadn’t had anyone that challenged her mind the way Nicole did in a long time; probably not since Frankie. Sure, Dolls could keep up with the supernatural and had a basic understanding of ancient civilizations, but his focus was so narrow. And Wynonna definitely kept her on her toes with her witty comebacks. But her conversations with Nicole were deep and  _ long _ . Wynonna couldn’t stay focused for more than a few minutes, but Nicole listened to her rant about Mesopotamian religion being the foundation of many of the religions that followed. She even asked questions and added her own input. Which is how Waverly suddenly found her sandwich finished and her chips gone. She really didn’t have an excuse to stay any longer, but she didn’t want to leave. 

           “I should probably…” she finished her sentence with a super awkward thumb dance and wanted to smack her forehead. 

“Oh right.”

          She popped and cracked her neck, lifting her arms above her head to stretch, before finally standing. She definitely wasn’t looking forward to leaning back over her books with this neck ache. 

           “Hey Nicole? You don’t have any Aspirin do you? My neck is killing me and it’s only going to get worse if I go back to my books.”

          If you asked, Nicole wouldn’t be able to tell you where the courage, or stupidity, came from, but next thing she knew she was saying, “I could help you with your shoulders. I’m pretty good with my hands!” She certainly didn’t mean to sound quite so flirty, but Waverly didn’t seem to notice.

           “Oh, no. I can’t let you do that for me?”

“Why– why not? I mean it’s no bother or anything…” Nicole was already regretting opening her big, stupid mouth, but she couldn’t seem to help but make it worse.

           “Champ always says that I’m too needy and that there are people to pay for that. I mean I get it, it’s not really fun to put all that work in and not get anything out of it, but usually I don’t really feel up for…  _ that _ when my neck hurts, you know? Oh, God. I’m rambling again. Total over share!” She starts frantically gathering her stuff to flee when she feels Nicole’s hand on her arm.

“I’m not offering because I want something Waverly; I’d never expect anything from you ‘cuz of a favor. I just hate seeing my friends in pain. My ex – um…ex-wife, bad Vegas story I’ll tell you another time, but, uh, she was a doctor. Studied a lot and always had knots. I learned how to get rid of knots pretty well.” Nicole was rambling this time, but she couldn’t seem to stop. “I could do you if you want.”

          Waverly looked at her for what felt like a really long time, and Nicole thought that she might be on the verge of a heart attack. Finally, she sighed and nodded her head once. She placed her sweater across the back of the chair and turned her back to Nicole. She brought her hair over her shoulder to rest along her chest and Nicole got lost for a moment. She snapped out of her trance when Waverly added, “Well, if you don’t mind…”

          Nicole hesitantly stepped up behind Waverly and tentatively placed her hands on her shoulders. Waverly took a deep breath, sighed and rolled her neck back and forth a couple of times. “I’ve always carried my tension in my shoulders.”

          Nicole took a shaky breath and tried not to notice how this angle showed just the top of a light pink, lacy bra sticking out of Waverly’s shirt. She could totally do this. It was just a favor for a friend. A really adorable, fucking gorgeous friend…

          The noises that came out of Waverly’s mouth as Nicole kneaded at her shoulders ought to be a crime! Nicole about passed out at one point when Waverly  _ moaned _ . She just couldn’t keep her mind from going to where else she might hear that moan. And it was horrible! You weren’t supposed to think about your friends like that. But Nicole kept rubbing and Waverly kept moaning and Nicole thought she might die on the spot. Dolls must have had the same thought about the noises, because he hesitated in the door way, almost like he was checking to make sure he wasn’t about to walk in on a compromising situation. Nicole dropped her hands immediately and tried her best not to look guilty. Waverly was oblivious though; she just rolled her neck and her shoulders and sighed. 

           “You were right about your hands! Amazing. I haven’t felt this good in a long time. I promise I’ll return the favor sometime!” She held up her hand to quiet Nicole before she could even speak. “I know, I know; I don’t have to, I don’t owe you. But I want to. I’m sure you need it as much as I did!” 

          Waverly stepped forward, placed her hands on Nicole’s shoulders and kissed her cheek, lingering a little longer than people normally did. She grabbed her sweater off the chair and started out the door.

           “It’s just a quickie Dolls! I’ve been working hard all morning. I earned it. I’ll fill you in back in the office.”

          She walked out the door, but Dolls lingered. He stared at Nicole slightly longer than she felt comfortable and then tilted his head to the side. Nicole’s awkward rambling emerged again.

“Do you think she heard it? Her words. How they could’ve sounded? No? No. Ok.”

          Dolls turned and walked out the door without ever answering her. She shook her head at her own stupidity and then surveyed the room. There was only one thing to do. The cold water she splashed on her face helped. A little. Fuck.

* * *

          The Earp sisters managed to make it a few days without any excitement, but they eventually had to get back to reality. And for Waverly, that meant finally dealing with Uncle Curtis’ will and property. Gus had asked her and Champ to clean out the old shed at the back of the property. The shed was barely standing and she wanted it emptied before it fell. His will said it all belonged to the Earp Sisters anyways; nothing Gus wanted or needed. Champ spent the morning loading it all into his truck while Waverly was working and it was time to sort through it all. 

“God, there's just so much,” Waverly said with glee as she started digging through the back of the pickup. 

 “Yeah. Curtis spent the last few years of his life hand-picking it, from the Badlands to the Rockies.”

“And you know that because?”

 “'Cause every time he went out, I did two things, drive and dig. Curtis had a nose for buried stuff. He was kind of like you, into the… into the past, of where things come from, and stuff before today, uh –“ 

“You mean like "history"?” 

 “Yep. How can somebody so pretty be so smart, huh?” The way Champ was hugging her felt just shy of suffocating, but maybe that was more from his words than his grip. 

“Because they're not mutually exclusive.”

 “'Member the last time we got mutually exclusive? Now that was historic, eh?” 

He started doing that sloppy neck kissing he did when he wanted to mess around. Waverly still didn’t know how he thought that was sexy. She’d pushed him away from her neck more times than she could count, but he still didn’t respect her “no hickeys” rule. Who wants to deal with all the cover-up that only partway works, or wants to fight with a scarf all day? No way she was going to wear the hickeys like the badge of honor he seemed to think they were. 

 “Hands off my sister, nine seconds!” 

“It was eight seconds, loser.”

Wynonna with the rescue! If there was one thing her sister was really good at, it was chasing Champ off. Waverly kind of hated that she needed someone to chase him off, but he wasn’t very good at hearing no. Everyone kept telling her that was normal, but that didn’t make it less annoying. Or right. 

 “Not any better dude. Most guys try to last at least a little longer…” Waverly didn’t hide her snort as well as she thought she did, because Wynonna turned to her with a smirk and gave her a knowing look. Waverly did her best not to look suspicious, but Champ was oblivious as usual. She really shouldn’t have laughed…

 “I’m stealing Waverly. You can just put the stuff in the barn; we’ll sort through it later. Thanks!”

Wynonna pulled Waverly along by the arm as she talked, not letting Champ argue. She’s not sure he even fully comprehended what was happening until both girls were loaded into Waverly’s jeep. And people said Wynonna’s hurricane mode was a bad thing.

“Where are we off to? More shopping? I was thinking we could use some new curtains. I don’t think the ones we have are salvageable; I’ve washed them three times and they’re still disgusting. Not to mention, the pattern really doesn’t fit my vision – No pink! I know.”

Wynonna just gave her a look and turned back towards the road. The longer they drove, the more suspicious Waverly got. Wynonna was quiet, too quiet, and they were getting further and further away from town. When she finally parked the truck and got out, Waverly realized exactly how isolated they were. 

“You bring me out here to kill me?” she tried to joke. 

Wynonna just leaned against the front of the jeep and looked at the mountains in the distance. It was one hell of a view; one of the only things she had missed while she was gone. There was a special sort of serenity only found in the mountains; a certain kind of quiet. She had found peace on beaches all around the world, losing her thoughts to the crashing of the waves, but the ocean is loud. The mountains are the only place Wynonna had ever found true  _ quiet _ . 

 “I never thought I’d come back here, you know. Definitely didn’t think I’d stay.”

Waverly wasn’t sure what to say, so she just stayed silent and leaned her shoulder against her sister’s. Wynonna seemed to have more to say and she knew if she just gave her time, she’d speak her mind. Waverly could feel the emotions radiating off her sister and she knew what ever it was that she wanted to say, wasn’t going to be fun to hear. 

 “You mean everything to me Baby Girl. So I’m going to do whatever it takes to keep you safe. Even if that makes you mad, even if you hate me. I’m not going to stand by and watch you get hurt, but I’m not going to let you hurt yourself either.”

Wynonna turned and looked at her sister, determination all over her face. Waverly was lost; she saw the sadness and pain in her sister’s eyes, but didn’t know what she was talking about. 

 “You have 2 days to pick who you’re going to marry, or I’ll decide for you. You can’t fight this and I’m not going to watch you avoid this until it’s too late. In two days, I’m giving Champ Mamma’s ring and… making sure he proposes. If this isn’t what you want, you have to let me know now, because we’re  _ not _ avoiding this any longer.”

“You have no right! You can’t make that choice for me!”

 “Then make it your damn self! You’ve always been the good sister, the responsible sister, so step the fuck up.”

Before Waverly had the chance to reply Wynonna was slamming the car door and blasting the music so loud she could hear it through the closed doors. She wanted to slam the other door – kick and scream at her sister – make her take it back. But she didn’t. She just slid to the ground, wrapped her arms around her knees and cried. She couldn’t bring herself to ask Wynonna to comfort her and Wynonna didn’t offer, so she cried until she couldn’t cry any more, then wiped her eyes and pulled herself to her feet. As she walked around to the car, she thought she saw Wynonna wiping her eyes too. Both sisters looked at each other as Waverly climbed in, with matching red eyes and sniffley noses. They locked eyes for a moment, but neither was willing, or maybe unable, to say anything. So Waverly slid down in her seat and Wynonna huffed in response as she shifted gears and pulled the jeep back on the road.

 

* * *

 

When Nicole heard a door slam and feet stomping towards the back offices, she expected to see Wynonna. She was pleasantly surprised to see Waverly instead… for a moment at least. Because Waverly didn’t even look her way as she passed and she either didn’t hear or chose to ignore her hello. She tried not to let her disappointment show, but the look on Wynonna’s face said she didn’t do very well.

 “Don’t worry Red. She’s mad at me.” Wynonna said casually, but Nicole could hear the sadness in her voice. Nicole leaned forward, her arms against the counter. 

“What’d you do?”

Wynonna paused for a moment, and then leaned her back against the counter, staring at the far wall. “Told her the truth – what she needed to hear – even if she didn’t want to think about it. I tried ‘nice’ the first two times, but she didn’t hear me.” 

Wynonna turned towards Nicole. “You can only run from your fate for so long, before it finds a way to make it happen anyways.”

“Are we talking about you or Waverly here?”

“Both.”

Wynonna peeled herself away from the counter and started walking towards the front door. As she reached the edge of the room, she stopped and grabbed the doorframe, leaning out just a little. She looked at Nicole for a long beat, before finally saying, “Waverly could probably use a shoulder right now, but she won’t want mine.” She held Nicole’s gaze a beat longer, nodded once and then walked out of the station. Nicole wasn’t entirely sure what she’d agreed to, but she already knew she’d do anything for Waverly.

 

* * *

 

“Knock, knock!”

Nicole peeked her head around the doorframe of the break room. Waverly was standing in front of the kettle, hands gripping the counter top, staring at it like her vision could boil the water if she focused hard enough. Waverly didn’t seem to notice Nicole as she walked into the room, only registering her presence when Nicole placed her hand between Waverly’s shoulder blades and flipped the switch on the kettle. The sound of the water and the touch of Nicole’s hand seemed to snap Waverly out of her trance. She jumped a bit and then found herself crying again. She tried to hide it from Nicole by turning back towards the cabinet, but Nicole’s hand on her shoulder told her she didn’t do a very good job. Before Waverly realized what she was doing, she had turned into Nicole’s chest, burying her face in her shoulder and desperately clutching her shirt like it was the only thing keeping her grounded. She was full-0n bawling, and if she wasn’t so upset, she might have been embarrassed. But Nicole just wrapped her arms around Waverly and held her tight. Waverly wasn’t sure what Nicole was murmuring, but the sound of her voice and her quiet words were soothing in a way she hadn’t felt since she was small enough to be picked up. Neither are sure how long they stand like that, but Waverly’s tears eventually stop and they slowly pull away. Waverly apologized as she wiped her eyes.

“You never have to apologize for being sad or crying Waves. And I’ll always be here for you.”

“It just got to be too much, you know? Like… I’ve been avoiding so much and it just all hit me.” 

She sniffled and wiped her nose on the tissue Nicole had produced out of nowhere. Nicole leaned around Waverly to grab a cup from the cabinet above the kettle. The water had been ready for quite a while and Nicole needed something to do with her hands; looking at Waverly’s sad, broken expression made Nicole’s heart hurt. She’d gladly take the pain away if she could – she’d carry it herself in a heartbeat. As she measured the tea into Waverly’s silly “ManaTea” infuser, she wracked her brain, desperately trying to find the words to say to make it all better.

“Sugar and cream?” 

Those were not the words. Nicole wanted to smack her hand against her face as Waverly nods in response, but she just reaches for the sugar and adds the two cubes and the splash of milk. She offers a soft smile as she hands Waverly the cup. The smile she gets back breaks her heart just a little, but the way Waverly reaches out and squeezes her hand tells her it’ll be all right. Eventually. 

She lingers a little longer while Waverly drinks her tea, leaning against the counter across from her. She watched Waverly like her face would suddenly tell her what was wrong. After a few minutes, Waverly finally spoke.

 “Wynonna said that she just needed to rip the band-aid off, that I hadn’t heard her when she tried to be careful. It definitely felt like it.” She paused to finish her tea and Nicole didn’t interrupt, knew she would keep talking if Nicole was patient. 

 “She was right though. I didn’t want to hear it – don’t want to hear it. There are suddenly so many big decisions in my life, but I don’t feel like I actually get to choose. I feel like my choice was made for me a long time ago. Only, I don’t like the choice and I don’t really like the other options either. So I’ve been running. But I can’t keep – I can’t keep running anymore. And I don’t know how to fix everything or just… stop feeling trapped. Lots of people settle down and get married and they’re excited about it – they can’t wait! But…I just feel trapped, and – and desperate. That’s not how you’re supposed to feel. That’s not what people feel when they get married. At least that’s not how my friends talk about feeling… I don’t know. I’m sorry, this isn’t your problem –  you don’t need to hear all my problems.” Waverly sighed as she turned and placed her cup in the sink. 

“Champ proposed?” Nicole hated how weak and sad her voice sounded. 

 “Not yet. But it’s just a matter of time, isn’t it? Wynonna is giving him Mamma’s ring and we’ve been together for years, so…”

“You love him?”

 “Small town, limited dating pool. But he’s good to me, so I can’t complain.”

“That’s not an answer Waves…”

 “You know, you’re the only one outside of my family that calls me that?”

Nicole swears her heart stopped for a moment. “Oh. Should I stop?”

Waverly smiled a soft smile, “No. I like it.” Then she turned and walked out the door, leaving Nicole confused and sad. Waverly never did answer her question.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Someone messaged me on Twitter, begging for another chapter before Friday. If I didn't love this chapter so much, or have such a good day at work or such a good music lesson or get to meet my friends' new born baby (2 days old y'all), I probably would have had more will power to say no. But I'm buzzing with happiness and willing to stay up to get this online. 
> 
> Seriously though, it was cool to have someone reach out on twitter. I love feed back! It's surreal to write in a bubble - I throw this out online but don't really get the chance to talk about it with anyone. So, if you like talking nerdy, come find me: cflynnrun on pretty much anything.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sibling bonding, it gets a little queer, super gay wall and Chump

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not one of the longer chapters, but the story moves along.

               Waverly did what she always did when she was upset: clean. She had pulled all the dishes from the cabinets and was scrubbing the shelves like her life depended on it. Wynonna stood in the doorway watching her scrub. She knew what this meant; Waverly was still upset. But she hated that they weren’t getting along right now, so she had to try and make it right. Somehow.

               “Waves?” She tentatively entered the room. She waited for Waverly to acknowledge her; waited for her to finish the shelf and rinse out the rag.

“I hate that you’re right. I’m supposed to be the responsible sister.”

               Waverly had a slight smile on her face, but Wynonna could tell she was still upset. Waverly rung out the rag and started on the next shelf. Wynonna opened the fridge and pulled out the cheap ‘emergency’ stash. She grabbed mismatched cups and splashed some in each. She dangled the cup over Waverly’s shoulder, right in front of her face, until she snatched it, exasperated, and turned to face her sister.

“Whiskey doesn’t fix everything, you know?”

               “Maybe not, but might as well try.”

               They both drained their glasses and slammed them back on the table, with matching grimaces on their faces. The good stuff didn’t burn, but times like this, the burn was welcomed. Wynonna went to the drawer, grabbed a rag of her own and started on the next shelf. Waverly started pulling things out of the top drawer and laying it out on the table. The sisters worked side by side until they had finished the rest of the cabinets, only talking when they needed the other to pass something their way. When the last cabinet was cleaned, and the last dish put back the sisters couldn’t avoid talking any more.

               “I’m sorry Waves. This sucks monkey balls. If it could do it instead, I would. In a heartbeat.”

“I know Nonna. But you know I wouldn’t let you. If I feel trapped and angry, I can only imagine how you’d feel!”

               “Gee, thanks!”

Waverly smacked her sister’s arm. “You know what I mean! I love stability and the idea of settling down, normally doesn’t scare me. It’s just different now that it’s not my choice, you know?”

               “I know.” Wynonna shuffled her feet as she added, “That’s why I ran, you know? Why I left for so long.”

               Waverly looked at Wynonna; she had a vulnerability on her face that Waverly rarely saw. Wynonna didn’t let people in very often, but it was a little easier when she knew Waverly would understand.

               “I spent so many years trapped here; trapped in Juvie; trapped in the assumptions people made, about my ‘delusions’ and my sanity. I never had a chance to make my own decisions and I HATED that. When I finally had the chance to make my own choices, I knew I needed to make a break. I couldn’t start over here with what everyone _thought_ they knew about me. But running didn’t help. Well, maybe a bit, but not the way being here with you has…”

               Wynonna turned back towards the bottle, and poured them both another shot. As she handed Waverly the glass, she finished, half whispering, “maybe settling down isn’t the worst.”

               The sisters downed their shots, perfectly in-sync, in a way only sisters could.

“Then why do I feel like my world is crashing down around me?”

               Wynonna hesitated. Tact had never been her strong suit, but blunt wasn’t going to work this time. “Have you thought about how it might not be the marriage that bothers you?”

“What do you mean?”

               “Maybe… maybe it’s not getting married, it’s who you’re getting married to…”

“What!? No! Champ’s great. He’s…great…” Waverly started pacing. “We’ve been together for so long, getting married is the next step, right? I mean, that’s what you do: you date for a while, get married, have babies…”

               “Or… you find a friend that you like to spend time with, marry them to get out of the deal and then get a quick divorce a few years down the road. I mean… would it be so bad to make a family with someone you care about? Even if you’re not in love?”

               Wynonna looked so sincere, Waverly started to think she was serious. She chuckled only to see Wynonna’s face fall. “Why would you marry someone if you weren’t in love?”

               “Maybe… maybe some people just don’t fall in love.”

Waverly looked at her sister in confusion. “What are you saying?”

               “I just… I don’t think I feel love like that…”

“You just haven’t –“

               “Stop! Don’t… I’ve heard it so many times and it’s never made me feel any better, just makes me feel…broken.” Now it was Wynonna’s turn to ramble, “But I’m not! I don’t _want_ to be in love. And it’s not some bullshit trauma thing! I know, I talked to a shrink about it…”

“So…”

               Now it was Wynonna’s turn to ramble. “When I was traveling, I met this girl who was Ace and that seemed weird to me. I mean, people that aren’t sexually attracted to anyone!? How’s that possible? And that just seemed super weird, until I realized… I don’t feel anything _but_ sexual attraction for people. Like ever. It just doesn’t happen… And then I freaked out, because… what if _I’m_ broken. But Hannah, that’s the Ace chick, she was telling me about Aro people. Other people like me that just don’t fall in love. I mean we still make pretty strong bonds with people, but not the way you see in fairytales, you know? And they’re ok, they’re happy. And… I’m ok. I’m ok with not finding that with anyone. I just don’t want to be alone. I want a family, but we don’t have to be in love for that, right?”

               Waverly wanted to reply, but had no idea what to say. She stood there, brow furrowed, looking at her sister. She’d never had anyone come out to her before. And she’d never heard of half of the words Wynonna was using.

               “Just…Just think about it, ok? If marrying Champ is freaking you out, then maybe there’s someone else.”

               Before she could figure out what to say, Wynonna had already walked out the door.

 

* * *

 

               Waverly did what she always did when she was perplexed: research. The encyclopedia failed her. But she knew that would probably be the case; wasn’t really a great place for modern information. So she tried Google. Which led to Tumblr. Which led to 4 or 5 hours spent bouncing from thread to thread, person to person. Waverly wouldn’t say she understood exactly, but she was starting to understand what Wynonna was saying. It kind of made sense if you started reading about the different types of attractions, only she couldn’t keep it all straight. So it was time to break out the string.

               “Murder Wall 2.0” became a crazy web of terms she hadn’t known before today and her scribbled notes that she added as she researched. She started adding flags and symbols as she went and soon the living room wall was full. She knew Wynonna would be annoyed when she saw it, but she really was _trying_ to understand.

 

\-----------

               Waverly was halfway through the opening routine at Shorty’s when Champ walked in. He wrapped his arms around Waverly from behind and handed her a letter.

“What is this?”

               “I don’t know. Found it in Curtis’ stuff. Oh, my God. I hope it's a million dollars. We could open a little bar down in, um, Buenos Aires. Huh? I've always wanted that for us.”

               Waverly didn’t even register Champ’s words, just opened the envelope and started reading Curtis’ letter.

> _"Waverly, darling, you are now the Keeper of the Bones. Guard this and tell no one but the Blacksmith. You're the only one I can trust. Love, Uncle Curtis. "_

               “I can't believe Wynonna got the Harley.” Champ grumbled as he walked over to the bar looking for a drink. Waverly was still lost in her own little world, lost in her thoughts.

               “He always said I was meant for bigger things. Paid for every one of my crazy online courses. Dead languages, off-beat history. God, it used to drive Gus nuts. But he believed in me. I can't think of a better gift, the Keeper of the Bones.” She continued, her tone wistful.

               “You know, you'll always be the keeper of my boner. Huh? Come on, let's shut that brain off a little while.”

               “No! I don't want my brain shut off. OK? I don't want to be a barmaid in Buenos Aires. And it turns out that a boner and a pickup aren't the whole enchilada. No. We're done. Yeah. We're done, Champ. And I've got work to do.”

 

* * *

 

 

               Waverly heard tires on gravel as she was pulling the lasagna out of the oven. She peeked out the window and saw Deputy Marshall Dolls dropping off her sister, Wynonna grumbling at him about something before slamming the door shut. Waverly began plating the food while she waited for her sister to walk in. She wasn’t trying to butter her up, exactly, but she was hoping the food would help the conversation, just a little.

“Waves! What the hell!?”

               Not a great start. Waverly followed Wynonna’s arm and noticed the LGBT+ web she had created on the wall (the title was in rainbow letter, of course!)

“I might have gotten a little carried away with the research… come eat while the food’s still hot!”

               Her attempt at distraction was unsuccessful, so she followed her sister into the living room to look at the wall. Wynonna’s face was scrunched up in either annoyance or confusion and she was tracing the yarn with her fingers as she studied the wall.

“Waves… What is all this?”

               “Well, you were talking about love and attraction and I couldn’t follow. And so I researched. Maybe a bit more than necessary, but once I started looking, there was just so much information out there. And then I couldn’t keep all my thoughts straight and it didn’t fit on a piece of paper, so….”

“Couldn’t keep your thoughts straight? Good one!”

               “Wait, what?”

“Super gay wall… straight thoughts… or not…”

               Waverly’s eyes suddenly opened really wide and a blush spread across her cheeks. Wynonna laughed as Waverly sputtered and rambled trying to explain.

               “I’m not… you’re the one… I didn’t… you’re the freaking A in LGBTQIA!”

               Wynonna just laughed and walked into the kitchen, snagging one of the plates of lasagna and settling in to one of the chairs. Waverly sighed as she grabbed her own plate and sat across from her sister. The sat, quietly eating until Wynonna finally spoke up and said, “Is this crazy ass wall your way of saying you’re cool with all of this? With me?”

               Waverly scrunched up her face and tilted her head, studying her sister as she said, “of course! Why wouldn’t I be?”  
“I don’t know… ‘cuz it’s weird and it’s just another way I’m all screwed up…”

               Waverly reached out and grabbed her hands. “You’re not weird and you’re not screwed up. I read this study that – “

“Ugh! God!” Wynonna said, pulling her hands away. “You’re going to go full nerd on me now aren’t you?”

Despite her words, Waverly could tell that she was secretly pleased. So she started recapping all the articles and posts she’d read. She’d tell her sister about Champ during dessert. Good thing she made beignets…

 

* * *

 

               Dinner took a lot longer than either had expected. Both were still getting used to having another person around to eat with; to not always having to rush to fit a meal into a 15-minute break. Their conversation had started serious, but quickly turned more casual. They laughed at dumb stories, discussed ways to find the next revenant and debated whether or not vegan ice cream could actually count as ice cream, seeing as it had no cream. But as Wynonna started clearing their plates, Waverly knew the conversation was going to get serious again. Because she had to find a way to tell Wynonna that she wouldn’t be marrying Champ after all.

“So…when you were coming out – “  
               “Waverly! Ugh! I wasn’t coming out. Gay people come out.”

“Aro people come out too Wynonna. You’re part of the alphabet. You count. But. As I was saying, you said something about marrying a friend. You know? Making a family that way?”

               “Yeah. I mean, I want a family some day, so…”

“Yeah… I meant more for me?”

               “What?”

“I sortofkindofbrokeupwithChamp.”

               “What? Speak English.”

“I broke up with Champ! I couldn’t do it! I couldn’t commit to a life time of – of – boner jokes and someone telling me to ‘turn my brain off’!”

               “So… you’re single…”

“And I still need someone to marry…”

               “Fuck.”

“Yeah.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still on time! I'm trying to stay a few chapters ahead, so I'm currently working on some fun Nicole story that's coming up (Chapter 8 or 9 - trying to find a good chapter break). Hopefully it'll be up early on Monday, but it's a crazy weekend, so no promises.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Girl's Night! Missing bosses. Drinking at work. Creepy corpses. Scissoring a stripper.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter and the next are pretty plot heavy (adapted from the masters!) Chapter 9 is where the story starts to split off from the show. If you've watched the show (who am I kidding!? If?!) you'll see a lot of 1X07 here, although I changed some character/location stuff.

              The Earp girls wanted to focus on Waverly’s dilemma, but it was like the people in their lives were working together to keep that from happening. And Waverly was desperately clinging to any normalcy in her life, including hosting a wedding shower for someone she’s not even sure she really likes. But having Wynonna and Doc around wasn’t going to help the normal vibes around the homestead. It wasn’t really that she didn’t want them around; she just didn’t really want them around her friends. So maybe she planned the shower when Wynonna was set to work, and maybe she didn’t mention the party, exactly… And after checking to make sure Wynonna was really planning on working, (maybe with a little less subtlety than she was going for) and promising she’d call if she got lonely, she started decorating the living room. She had gotten some new throw pillows, and a few scarves she was using as drapes. There was music and snacks and everything was going to be painfully normal… If she could just get rid of the gunslinger in her living room.

 

               “Yeah, you need to go.” Waverly said as she shooed him towards the door. “Girls only tonight.” She added as she fluffed the pillows on the couch. Waverly flitted around the room, dancing to the music and moving decorations from here to there. She gently pushed him out of the way as she went to light the candles on the mantle.

                “I’m hosting an engagement party – a chance for me to show my friends that I'm not a freak.”

               Doc sidestepped Waverly as she moved towards the food table and picked up one of the pillows off the couch. Turning it over in his hands, holding it as if it was something thoroughly baffling, he chimed in, “You hunt demonic outlaws who rise from the dead.” He placed the pillow back on the couch as he added, “Gunslingers cannot foster friendships with civilians. It never works.”

               She whipped a scarf in his direction, trying to shoo him out of the house.

               “See, you being here is definitely not selling normal. So look, the only invitation you're getting is to move onto our land.” She waved the scarf at him again. “Friends don't let friends get gutted by revenants.”

              She turned towards the window and went to drape the scarf over the window. “Plus, you know, it might be nice for us to have some company. You know, chop wood, help us not die…”

              “That is a generous offer, one that should come from your sister also.

“Look, she might not be able to figure you out, Doc, but Wynonna doesn't want you dead.”

 

* * *

 

 

                 This was not a conversation Dolls wanted to be having over the phone, not a conversation he wanted to have at all, really. But these men weren’t going to take no for an answer and he really didn’t want Wynonna doing something reckless and stupid when he didn’t come back.

               “Look, I need you to listen carefully, there's been a change of plans. I have to go away for a while.”

“What? Where are you?”

                “You can do it, Earp. You don't need me, okay? You can break the curse; find the last of the Seven. Believe that.”

               “Dolls? Dolls? Shit.”

 

* * *

 

               Wynonna knew going for the whiskey was a bad plan, but drunk sounded better than helpless. She had found the take out Dolls had grabbed for them sitting by the front door of the station, but that was the only sign he had ever been there. She wasn’t sure where she was going, but she couldn’t seem to sit still. So she found herself wandering through the station, bottle in hand, tracing the patterns on the wall as she walked. Every room she walked past was empty and dark, until there was one that wasn’t.

               “Saturday night. I'm the town pariah with ten years of bad deeds and social suicides to make up for, what's your excuse?”

“Nedley.

               “Say no more. Bosses are the worst.” Just the thought of Dolls drove Wynonna to the whiskey in her hand. She hesitated before she drank, whispering under her breath, “also, I'm scared mine might be dead.”

               The look Nicole gave her had her backpedaling. “Oh, kidding.” She leaned against the doorway taking another drink, getting lost in her thoughts for a moment. Nicole turned away from her work and studied her for a second.

                “Are you sure you're okay?”

“Mm-hmm.”

               Nicole wasn’t even slightly convinced that she was really fine, but she decided to indulge Wynonna and change the subject.  “At least I'm not the only one who wasn't invited to the party. Makes me feel better.”

                “What party?”

               Smooth move Nicole. Luckily, Wynonna didn’t seem to expect a response. Before Nicole knew what was happening, Wynonna was sitting on her desk, pointing the bottle of whiskey at Nicole’s face, saying: “You’re officially drinking with me, Red!”

               “I’m on the clock Wynonna!”

               “Your shift ends in 20 minutes, right? I’ll go find snacks!”

                “Wynonna!” Before Nicole could even finish her name, Wynonna was out the room and heading down the hall. Nicole eyed the bottle of whiskey warily. Her shift was almost over, but she had planned on getting caught up on some work while the station was quiet; it was hard to focus with all the activity, and she certainly wasn’t able to get any reading done when she was manning the front desk. She turned back to the files on her desk, hoping that Wynonna would get distracted by her quest for snacks and disappear. No, that’s mean. She liked Wynonna just fine, but she tended to mess with Nicole’s routine in the most inconvenient ways.

 

               “Did you know that someone left a full bag of Doritos in the break room? What kind of idiot would do that?”

               “Well, I’m going to go out on a limb here and guess, Lonnie?” Nicole had long ago perfected a tone that was the perfect combination of dry humor, patronizing judgment, ‘I’m over this shit’ and sometimes a hint of sarcasm. She often threw in a look to really punctuate her point. This time, she felt the need to point out the name written in giant letters across the top of the bag, just in case Wynonna missed everything else.

               Wynonna cocked her head to the side, not unlike a puppy, and then slowly turned the chip bag towards her. “Oops!” she said, her mouth still full of chips. She looked in the bag, then back at the name scrawled across the top and after a moment’s hesitation, she grabbed another handful of chips and shoved them in her mouth. Nicole cleared her throat and leveled her best ‘I’m hard-core judging you’ look at Wynonna. She at least had the good sense to look _almost_ guilty as she said, “I’ll buy him another bag!”

               “No you won’t.”

               Nicole sighed, and stood up from her chair. She was _definitely_ not getting any work done tonight. Not with Wynonna around. And as much as she wanted to chase her off, it was in her nature to take care of people. Wynonna was obviously going through a lot and she didn’t really have anyone other than Waverly. If Nicole was bummed about not getting invite, Wynonna must be too.

 

               “Hand me the bottle, Earp.”

               Wynonna looked like a small child getting a toy confiscated, as she clutched the bottle closer to her chest. Nicole held her hand out for the bottle and when Wynonna didn’t hand it over, she gestured impatiently. Wynonna looked torn as she looked back and forth between Nicole and the bottle. Nicole raised her eyebrows, daring Wynonna to refuse. She looked like she was going to for a brief second, before sighing and handing over the bottle. Nicole sat down on her desk, looked at the bottle then looked at the clock. She reached one of her arms over and shut the door, before taking a long swig from the bottle.

               “God that’s the worst!”

               “Drink some more Haught-stuff and you won’t even notice it anymore.” Wynonna sat next to her on the desk, pulling the bottle from her hand and taking a long drag. She swung the bottle back at the deputy, catching her in the chest. Nicole grabbed the bottle and took another drink, before stopping to examine the label.

               “I didn’t think anyone over the age of 20 drank this shit. You couldn’t have paid the extra two bucks for something halfway decent?”

               “Ungrateful! It happened to be the first bottle I could reach over the bar.”

               “This came from Shorty’s? Please tell me you paid for it!”

               “Well….”

               “Never mind! Don’t want to hear it! I’m going to assume you paid the man for the bottle.”

               “Well you know what they say about assuming…”

               Nicole rolled her eyes and stole the bottle back. She slid down to the floor and patted the spot next to her. She tried turning the subject back towards work, hoping that maybe Wynonna would tell her about one of their cases, but Wynonna was stuck on Waverly’s party – and Nicole was tipsy enough to get caught up.

               “You know exactly who she invited too” Wynonna started, giving Nicole a look. “Chrissy Nedley.”

               “What?! Sheriff's daughter?”

               “Mm-hmm! And Stephanie Jones. You know, one time, Stephanie told me that I should think about getting a butt lift.”

               “What?! Your ass is like - It's top shelf, man. It's top shelf.” If Nicole had been a little less tipsy, she might have been able to keep her outrage and her hand gestures to herself. (She certainly wouldn’t have mimed her hand cupping Wynonna’s ass.) But Wynonna didn’t seem to mind; she responded with a simple, “Thanks”.

                In true tipsy fashion, their conversation suddenly changed directions, Wynonna getting serious and pensive as she asked, “Have I pulled Waves too close?”

                Nicole probably should have been concerned about oversharing, but she always got a little too honest when she’d been drinking.

                “You know, I think that Waverly has spent her whole life tailoring who she is to the people she's with. She's only now just starting to figure out what she really wants.”

                 “Dude, you're like a walking bumper sticker. Who's armed! Waverly should be hanging out with you.”

                Nicole knew Wynonna was talking about them being friends, but she couldn’t help but think about their lunch and how _desperately_ she wanted to spend more time with Waverly.

                 “I agree.”

 

As Nicole took another swig from the bottle, a picture on the ground caught Wynonna’s eye.

                  “Who's this?”

                  “That is victim number 3.”

                  “Same guy killed 3 women?”

                  “Yeah, killing them was only the start.” Nicole quickly switched back into Deputy Mode, pulling the files off the table. “Joyce Arbour. She's 22. We found her Wednesday morning, and the cause of death appears to be multiple lacerations, but of course, the autopsy report is practically illegible.”

                  “Dolls picked a great time to go AWOL.” Wynonna didn’t know why, but she had a bad feeling that this was a BBD case. And that feel only got stronger when her nose suddenly started bleeding. Both women found themselves suddenly sober.

                  “Uh, I need to see the body.”

Nicole and Wynonna grabbed the file (and the whiskey) and headed towards the morgue.

 

* * *

 

                 Wynonna always felt super wiggy when she came down to the morgue, but Nicole was all business as she checked the toe tags on the bodies laid out on the tables.

“And here she is. Joyce Arbour.”

                 Wynonna hesitated as she walked over to the body; taking one last swig of whiskey, before putting the bottle down on the table. (Which Nicole immediately moved to the floor; she might be a little tipsy, but that’s no excuse for potentially contaminating evidence). Pulling the sheet off her face, felt like something big and it made Wynonna uneasy.

                 “She kind of looks like you, Wynonna.”

“Jesus Christ! Who did this?” Wynonna studied the body, while Nicole flipped through the autopsy report.

                 “I’m not sure. Who ever did this report sucks at their job.” Nicole kept flipping back and forth between the pages, trying to decipher the notes.

“Anything unusual or creepy about the wounds - or the way she died?”

                 “Well, she died because humans can't survive when their organs are removed.”

“She was alive when he took them out?”

                 “Best I can tell… But the incision isn't what killed her.” Nicole was doing her best to follow the notes, but there was a lot of speculation and not a lot of supporting evidence. “The ME thinks that he performed a messed up sort of surgery on her; drugs, IV, blood bag, the works… This is weird.”

“What?”

                 “The wounds were cauterized as they were made.

“So he cut her open with something hot?”

                 “Crazy hot. Like laser hot.

“Or Hellfire hot.” Wynonna mumbled under her breath, before turning back to Nicole. “We need to look at the rest of those files.” And she had grabbed the whiskey and was out the door before Nicole could even respond.

 

* * *

 

They found themselves back in the office, pictures spread out across the desk.

                 Alright, so you remove the organs if you're gonna sell them on the black market. Why would you take 'em out and then put 'em back in?” Nicole was flipping through the autopsy file again, thinking out loud. She wasn’t used to having someone to bounce ideas off of, but here Wynonna was, chiming in.

                 Maybe somebody was looking for something,” Wynonna responded as she ran her finger over the photo.

                 You keep looking at her neck.” Nicole said, coming over to look at the photos again.

                 Yeah, there's a welt… the shape of a spade, like on a deck of cards.”

Wynonna traced the spade with her finger as she continued, “What would cause that?”

                 Nicole pulled one of the photos closer. “Well, if she was hit by something in the shape of a spade. Or maybe prolonged pressure.”

                 “Spade. Spade…” Something about the spade seemed significant to Wynonna, but she couldn’t put her finger on it, until Nicole said, “I wonder that the significance of the spade is. Probably means something to the killer. Maybe it’s something he wears. A ring or something.”

 

                 Wynonna froze, hands gripping the desk in front of her, before suddenly running from the room.

 

                 Nicole followed her out of the room and into the break room, where she was slamming cabinets, desperately trying to find something.

                  “Nobody keeps booze in here, Wynonna! Except you.”

                 Nicole was fighting very hard to keep her cool, but she didn’t like being jerked around. Wynonna wasn’t telling her everything and whatever it was she was hiding, was enough to have Wynonna genuinely afraid.

                 “You want to tell me what the hell is going on?”

“No idea.”

                  “Bullshit! I think somebody's trying to scare you, toy with you. Why?”

“I picked up this case, like, an hour ago, how could –“

                  “It be connected to you?” Nicole interrupted. “Yeah, I would really like to know that too. People getting eaten by something? Call Wynonna. Guy gets murdered by a man in a mirror? Yeah, Wynonna to the rescue.”

“Black Badge specializes in cases that are, uh, too complex for rookie flatfoots, so it makes sense that you're a bit confused.”

                 “I'm not.”

“You're awfully interested in me and my sister. Maybe I should be grilling the shit out of you.”

                 Nicole knew that the only way she wouldn’t say or do something she’d regret was to get far away from Wynonna.

 

* * *

 

“Wave, Wave, slow down. What do you mean, you killed a stripper?”

 

* * *

 

                 Nicole’s certain that Wynonna was using her for a sober ride, but when she heard that it was Waverly and Chrissy, she didn’t really care. Waverly was her only friend in Purgatory and she was more upset than she’d ever admit when she heard that something bad had happened at her party. She didn’t really know Chrissy, but she always included Nicole in her coffee runs to the station, offering a smile and a wave or a hug as she passed through to her father’s office. The idea that something could have happened to either of them terrified her in a way she hadn’t experienced in a long time.

                 Nicole and Wynonna didn’t talk on the ride over. In fact, they hardly acknowledged each other until after they had finished taking statements. They both knew that when they arrived, Wynonna would go to her sister and Nicole would check on the younger Nedley. The entire time Chrissy was giving her statement, Nicole had to fight to keep her head in the game. She wanted to run to Waverly, to hug her and tell her it was going to be ok. But that was Wynonna’s job. So Nicole took Chrissy’s statement, like she was trained to do. As she listened, it became apparent that Waverly was badass. She’d defended the house and her friend remarkably well for being weaponless. And it sounds like Stephanie would have come out if it ok as well, if she had just listened to her friend and stayed inside the house. Nicole and Chrissy were just wrapping up as Wynonna walked out of the house.

                 “Your sister okay?”

“Yeah, well, she's being Waverly.”

                  “Chrissy says she scissored a stripper. “ Nicole couldn’t help but smile a little bit at the thought and she was happy to see Wynonna do the same; even if it was short lived.

                 “So? Any idea why your homestead was targeted? I mean, besides the fact that it's yours.” Nicole couldn’t keep the bite out of her voice, but Wynonna seemed to expect that.

                 “You know what, we should get some breakfast. I could murder a sack of pancakes. Then we'll talk, really talk.” Nicole knew Wynonna was offering an olive branch, but she wasn’t quite ready to take it yet.

                 “You’re gonna help me understand why some of these cases are a little too complex for local flatfoots?” she bit out, but Wynonna didn’t rise to the fight.

                  “I'll do my best.” The resignation in Wynonna’s voice cooled Nicole’ anger quickly.

“Your boss gonna be okay with that?”

                  “My boss isn't here. Guess you're my ride.”

 

                 Nicole couldn’t help but glance at the porch as she turned towards the car. There was something about Waverly that pulled her in every time. She seemed hyper aware of her presence, but Nicole told herself that she was just checking to make sure she was all right. She _had_ gotten in a fight with a murderous stripper after all. Just seeing Waverly made her smile, but meeting Waverly’s eyes made her heart surge and she could feel her smile spread across her face. Waverly smiled and looked away for a second before glancing back at Nicole. The bashful smile she sent Nicole nearly knocked her over, but she put one foot in front of the other until she practically fell into her car. Thankfully Wynonna was checking her phone for the millionth time and Nicole was able to escape with her dignity intact; for an agent, she wasn’t the most observant.

                 Wynonna was looking at her phone, but she wasn’t processing anything on her screen. Dolls was gone and didn’t seem to be coming back. She needed back up. And as much grief as she gave Haught, she knew Nicole would have her back. Nicole wanted to protect people above all else and Wynonna was going to need help if she was going to face down the last of The Seven.

                 She’d seen the way Nicole had looked at her sister. Wynonna was pretty oblivious, but you’d have to be blind to miss those heart eyes. And she wasn’t sure, but she’s pretty sure that Waverly’s bashful ‘smile and wave’ was more than friendliness. She had planned on filling Nicole in on the revenant hunt and Ghost River Triangle supernatural shit, but now she was thinking that she should mention the contract too. She still had Mamma’s ring, and Nicole was far easier to be around than Chump Hardly.

                 Maybe they didn’t need to keep Waverly’s spouse in the dark. Maybe they needed to find someone to help them; not just with the contract, but with the curse. Maybe having a deputy in the family wouldn’t be such a bad thing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had planned on posting this earlier, but somebody (JDaydreamer) posted a new chapter of one of my favorite stories and I couldn't bring myself to stop reading it long enough to proof this chapter. If you're a Bering/Wells fan, you should go check it out!  
> 
> 
> <https://archiveofourown.org/works/2665046/chapters/5956856>


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Screw you Jack.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A lot of this is borrowed again (I promise, the next chapter is original). I also really dislike Reginald, so...

              Nicole and Wynonna never made it to breakfast. In fact, they only made it halfway back to Purgatory before a man flagged them down. And Nicole liked to pride herself on her judgment and her reflexes, but the perfectly harmless looking man knocked her out before she even had the chance to react. She remembers hearing Wynonna yelling as the world went blurry. She’d never felt so helpless.

               The next bit is blurry. She remembers being carried through the snow and trees, but it wasn’t comforting like when her father used to carry her into the house when she fell asleep in the car. Even in her drugged up state, she knew something was wrong. She must have passed out again, but being thrown to the ground and kicked into the ditch snapped her out of her fog, for a moment, before she succumbed to the pain. She remembers the cold more than anything; even when she wasn’t really awake, she could feel the cold. And then it felt like a horse kicked her in the chest, only there were people standing above her, talking to her. She couldn’t focus on their words, couldn’t even hear them, until the horse kicked her in the chest again. This time, her brain woke up completely and she _felt_ the pain. It wasn’t a horse that kicked her, but a surge of electricity. She must have flat lined at some point, because she recognized those paddles; they taught her how to use them at the academy. She vaguely remembers the lights passing overhead as she was wheeled down the hallway. And her poor uniform was trashed as they cut it off her to stitch up her side and her hand. Nedley was going to be pissed; they only issued you four, enough for a week’s worth of shifts. Now she was down a shirt, and she knew there were other things to worry about, but it seemed easier to worry about her shirt. Maybe she would just take another nap really quickly.

 

* * *

 

               Wynonna! Where was Wynonna? She doesn’t remember her being in the ditch and there’s no way that man let her walk away. Nicole tried to stand up, get out of bed, but every part of her body was screaming in pain. Or maybe that was her actually screaming. And then the alarm was going off and people were running in and why couldn’t she breathe anymore? One of the nurses is holding her down and she’s trying to tell them she needs to find Wynonna, but they’re not letting her get up. And someone is putting something in her IV. And she feels sleep coming again.

 

* * *

 

               The next time she wakes, she feels better – not great, but better. And she’s not sure how long she’s been out, but it can’t have been too long because the sun is still up. The voices in the hall are muffled, but anxious.

               _“I need to question her before her memory becomes more clouded than it already is.”_

_“I’d feel more comfortable with a green light from her doctor.”_

               “I want to help.” She called out, not sure if they’d hear her. But her voice brought everyone into the room. She could tell Nedley was hesitant, so she did her best to smile.

              He seemed unsure of what to do, but he ultimately knew that there was no way to stop her from helping. Nicole did her best to answer their questions; right now, it was all she could do to try and help Wynonna.

               “He kicked me.” Nicole said placing her hand on her chest. “I was trying to figure out why my chest was hurting… He threw me down and kicked me into the ditch…said ‘you’re the wrong kind’.”

               There wasn’t much she could do from her bed, but if Dolls wanted to know what happened and Doc wanted to know what she smelled, then she’d tell them all she could remember.

She nearly broke when Waverly ran out crying. If she had been able to walk she would have chased after her. Waverly said she was glad Nicole was okay, but Nicole was sure she’d rather have Wynonna back. She tried to pay attention to what everyone was saying, but she felt sleep pulling her under again.

 

* * *

 

 

               Waverly couldn’t handle it anymore! Nicole was laying in a hospital, barely able to sit up on her own. The doctor said they had to resuscitate her before they could even load her into the ambulance. She _died_ out there in the snow. Nicole died and Wynonna was missing. Wynonna was missing and some serial killer probably had her and Waverly couldn’t handle it anymore. She nearly ran down the hall trying to get away, eyes blurred with tears. Suddenly, she felt strong hands on her shoulders and Doc was there, telling her it would be ok. And right now, she didn’t have time to cry. Wynonna needed her head in the game, because who else knew Purgatory the way she did?

 

* * *

 

 

            Wynonna wasn’t afraid of much; she had been in too many tight places to have any thing left to fear. All she really feared in this world was loosing what was left of her family. Except now. Now she was afraid that this crazy dude with horrible hair and crazy nails was going to cut her up and take out her organs. She didn’t know that was something to be afraid of, but apparently it was. And she had no problem admitting that she was scared as balls.

               “Who are you?”

               “I go by a lot of names. But you can call me Jack.”

               Wynonna could barely twitch her muscles despite how hard she was working to move. And _Jack_ was moving his crazy hellfire nails towards her chest, but she still couldn’t will herself to move more than an inch or two. Where the fuck was the cavalry, because she could really use some firepower right now!

               “Reginald always used antiseptic because he thought there was a chance the patients would survive the procedure. But, let’s not kid ourselves. You’re not gonna survive this.”

             He raised his hands and moved to cut her open, “Now, only the best for the heir.”

               “Wait! Before I die, just tell me.”

               “Tell you what?”

               Wynonna was only _partially_ stalling as she asked, “Why? Why send the posse of seven? If Bobo really wanted my daddy dead, he could've done it himself.”

               “Don't forget, it wasn't the posse that killed dear old Ward. It was a scared and confused little girl.”

               Wynonna knew he was trying to mess with her head, cause her a little more pain, but it she couldn’t keep the fear and pain out of her voice. She was trying hard not to panic, not to let him win, but a girl can only take so much before she breaks.

               “It was an accident.”

               “I know, I was there.”

               Jack’s hand caressing her face made her skin crawl, but she couldn’t move away.

               “I know you're not going to believe this, but I really liked your father. You know, he wasn't like the other Earp heirs. He wasn't ambitious like Edwin, or courageous like Josiah, but he had something that they didn't have. He had wits.” Jack tapped his head, taking a slight step away. But his eyes still bore into her as he added, “When Ward started his little ride, he realized that in order to survive, he was gonna have to make certain alliances.”

               “With who? Black Badge?”

“Don't be daft. He made a pact with the big man himself. Bobo Del Rey.”

               “No. My daddy would never make a deal with a, with a demon. Never.”

“They were very close friends. Made a deal to save your family.”

             “Liar.”

“You know what I’m saying is true. You’re baby sister only has a couple of weeks of freedom left now, doesn’t she?”

               Wynonna couldn’t help the noise that erupted from her as she tried to throw herself at Jack; it was half scream, half growl and it came from the depths of her soul. Like _hell_ was she letting anyone hurt her family.

“I'm sorry, Wynonna, did I break your heart? Now I'm going to cut it out.”

               Just when Wynonna thought it was over she heard a gun shot. She knew it wouldn’t keep him down, but she knew it hurt. Waverly found her. If anyone knew about the tunnels, it had to be her. And now Doc and Dolls were here. Thank all things Holy for the fucking cavalry!

               “Took you long enough.”

 

              “Doc Holliday. I always hoped that I'd have this pleasure. Normally I just carve up women, but, Doctor, in your case I'm going to make an exception.”

               “Looks like it's just me and you, Jackie Boy.”

               This might be the only time she’s been thankful for the giant male egos in the room, and Doc and Jack might have two of the biggest around.

Now if only she could get her legs to move. She could see Peacemaker just across the room. Fucking legs.

               “Dolls. Across the hall. Peacemaker! Whisky barrels. Quick!”

               Wynonna heard tools clatter to the ground and turned just in time to see Doc hit Jack with a dagger, clear across the room. The Fastest Gunslinger in the West also had one hell of an arm!

                 “Did I get him?”

                 “Not your job. Peacemaker and I’ve got this.”

               Wynonna was stumbling around, falling into everything in her path, but she was moving. And, for once, she didn’t need speed. Doc had leveled the playing field with the dagger to the shoulder; Jack was bleeding out. She was following the bloody handprints and the smears where he had fallen into the barrels and boxes as he tried to escape. When she finally caught up, he was crawling across the floor. Oh how the tables have turned; now _he’s_ stalling and begging.

 

“Just think about it. Think about it. Think about it. I'm the last of the Seven. What happens when you kill me?”

               “Order too much Thai and open a bottle of wine?”

“Once I'm gone, you'll have to deal with the puppet master. And Bobo Del Rey makes the rest of us look like choir boys.”

               Wynonna raised Peacemaker and pointed it straight at Jack.

               “Yeah. But he'll still make the same pathetic hissing sound - when I shoot him between the eyes.”

“Oh, I wish I could stay! Watch what's coming next. A reunion, an escape. So much blood. Don’t you want to know why they need Waverly – why they made the deal with Ward? Too bad the seven of us didn’t agree to the same deal. I wish I could stay and watch, see your face.”

               “You attacked my home and killed my sister. Now make your peace.”

               If Wynonna had been a harder, more patient person, she might have kept Jack around a little longer. She was sure he was trying to buy time, give himself time to heal, maybe make a fight for it. She knew that Jack had information, information that would probably help, but what are the odds that she could have gotten the information from him anyways. She needed the search for The Seven done and she needed out of this shithole. And maybe a spa day. But first a doctor. And _a lot_ of whiskey.

 

* * *

 

 

               It a lot longer to get out of the hospital than Wynonna would have liked. But at least this time she knew it was a real hospital. And Waverly was there. Wynonna didn’t tell her sister how much her hug hurt, because she never wanted to let go. For a moment there, she thought she’d never see Waverly again. All the regrets she had led back to leaving Waverly behind, or loosing her family. She needed time to make it up to her, even if it took her whole life.

               Waverly drove home from the hospital like a grandma, barely cracking 50kmh. But as much as Wynonna grumbled, she knew it was out of love. They were standing in their living room, Waverly clinging to her like a koala. And she’d never admit it, but she didn’t mind. As the lighter caught the photo on fire, the photo she’d been obsessively carrying for weeks, she felt the weight on her chest lift, just a little.

“Just like that. The seven are gone.”

               “Just like that, huh?”

               The girls watched the photo burn. Wynonna had lasted 20 minutes before she started drinking. She’d refused the pain pills at the hospital, because everyone had their limits. But right now, she needed to forget for a while, stop thinking.

               “So what now?” Wynonna couldn’t deal with Waverly’s questions right now. She had to leave; be anywhere else; be anyone else.

               “Wynonna?”

 

* * *

 

 

               Waverly wasn’t sure what she was expecting, but she was hoping Wynonna would stay. She’d almost lost her and now she was watching her walk out the front door. Everything in her life was chaos right now. Wynonna wasn’t the only one that needed to escape for a bit. Waverly thought about calling Chrissy, but she knew she had a date with a guy from the city. Chrissy would come in a heartbeat, but she didn’t want to break up a date. And Nicole was still in the hospital. She could visit, but Waverly couldn’t go back there. Not yet.

              

* * *

 

 

               Waverly was four whiskeys in when Nedley found her at Shorty’s. He didn’t say anything at first, just placed another glass in front of her and sat down. Both stared at the wall in front of them.

               “I heard they found the serial killer. Unfortunately, they were unable to recover his body.”

               Waverly tried to clear her voice. “Umm… yeah. They say he fell into one of the old vats. Whatever was in there made it too dangerous to recover.”

               “Dolls made good on his promise.”

               The two finished their drinks, and Nedley flagged the bartender for another.

               Once the bartender left, Waverly finally turned to Nedley. “I’ve never seen you drink more than one.”

               “I never do. Outside of my house.” He turned to look at her. “I’ve never seen you down, what is this, six? What are you running from?”

               Waverly scoffed. “You keeping tabs on me?”

               “I may not say it often enough, but I care about you. All those years… You spent more afternoons at our house than not… I’ve always thought of you as a niece. Cared for you like kin.”

               Nedley flagged the bartender down for water as he continued. “I’ve seen Wynonna like this more times than I can count. I know the pain and anger she carries around. I might not know everything about your lives, but I’ve seen the weight of the Earp name. And I’ve seen what she faces with Dolls; that’s not easy on a person.”

               He finishes off his whiskey and slides the glass away. Waverly just lets him keep talking. “What I don’t know is why you’re drinking like there’s no tomorrow.”

               “My dad was an asshole.”

               “So was mine.” He sighed as he fiddled with his hat. “But Ward was a special kind of asshole. I knew things weren’t great out there, it’s why I let you hang around so much, but there was never anything that I could use to step in. Always haunted me – wondering if I could have stopped Wynonna – kept her from all that by stepping in.”

               Waverly took a big drink, and looked, really looked at the sheriff. “Why are you telling me this now?” She could feel the tears falling down her face, but couldn’t stop them and wasn't sure she wanted to.

               “Because I should have told you before. Never seemed like the right time... The stuff you’re dealing with – the stuff BBD deals with – weighs on a person. And as much as I’ve always seen Wynonna as a lost cause, she’s stepped up since she’s been back. Becoming who she should have had the chance to be… but you… you’re loosing your light Waverly. Carrying too much. More than you should have to.”

               He stood up and put his hat on. “Whatever it is that’s weighing on you… you’ve got to find someone to talk to. I know a lot of what you do is classified, but you can’t do it alone. Shouldn’t have to.”

               He turned to the bartender. “One more and then cut her off. Put it on my tab.” He turned back to Waverly. “I’m sending Lonnie back in 30 minutes to drive you home.”

               “Sherrif!" She tipped her glass and tried to pour all that she couldn't say into her next words. "Thank you.”

               Nedley just nodded once and turned and left.

 

* * *

 

 

               Waverly stumbled down the stairs just as Wynonna stumbled in the door. Neither commented about how rough the other looked, but Waverly couldn’t help but ask, “Whose bed were you in last night?” The hurt look on Wynonna’s face had her backtracking. “Sorry. I need grease and coffee.”

               “There’s nothing wrong with enjoying the comfort of the opposite sex from time to time.”

               “I’m not judging.”

               Wynonna’s look said that she didn’t believe her.

               “I’m serious. After all this shit lately, I’m starting to understand.” Waverly wagged her eyebrows at her sister. “I just wish there was a better selection,” she added with a hip check. Wynonna laughed and threw her arm around her sister.              

               “You and me both!”

               The sisters worked around each other in the kitchen and soon had coffee and toast. They took it out to the porch, eating and drinking in happy silence. Wynonna didn’t want to kill the mood, but it was now or never.

               “So…. Found a solution to your problem.”

               Waverly eyed her warily. Wynonna couldn’t quite meet her eye, but it was Band-Aid ripping time. “You know I always do my best thinking while drunk – “ Waverly just scoffed and moved to sit down on the bench. Wynonna moved to lean against the rail across from her.

               “Yeah. That sounded bad, even to me.” She took another sip and tried to steel herself. “But I really was thinking about it last night, after…” Her hand waving just met a raised eyebrow from her sister. “Oh what ever! I was laying awake and thinking about what you needed in a spouse to make this not suck. Someone honest, reliable, smart enough to keep up with you, steady enough to balance out our craziness, serious enough to deal with the weight of the curse, but still able to laugh. It’d be better if you guys could be friends and if they could help with the revenant hunt, or at least stay out of the way.”

               Her sister was still sitting quietly, watching her.

               “And it would help if we knew they weren’t a revenant, so – “ and it was as if they were part of a tv show, because her words were interrupted by a royal blue truck, straight out of the 90’s, pulling onto their drive. “I invited them here…” Wynonna finished as she hurried down the steps and off the porch. Waverly sat for a moment, just watching. She couldn’t see the guy, the door was blocking his face, but she saw a baseball cap with the telltale maple leaf and knew it wasn’t Champ’s truck. Wynonna was talking to the ‘man behind the curtain’ and Waverly thought it was about time that she see what loser Wynonna had roped into her nonsense.

 

               The first thing she noticed as they step out from behind the door, were the remarkably tight jeans on long, obviously female legs. Then she noticed the Purgatory Sheriff Department logo on the baseball tee that was soft and fitted and tight across an obviously female chest. Then she noticed the fiery red hair hanging out from under her cap and over one shoulder.

               Nicole.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter has been really fun to write! We don't know a lot about Nicole's past (yet) so there's a lot of freedom writing her back story, which had been really fun! Can't wait to post it, but work is crazy so I doubt I'll get it up early. Sorry. I'm hoping that I'll be able to switch to updating 3-4 times a week once work calms down. I want to try and finish this before the new season starts (and my life gets even crazier), but there's still 15 or so chapters left, so that might not happen. 
> 
> As always, feedback is appreciated! It's weird to throw your writing into the wind and hope for the best. So come bug me on Twitter or Tumblr! Sometimes I get super motivated to finish chapters early, even though it means finishing a chapter at 2 am or frantically over my lunch break at work. 
> 
> See you guys Monday!!


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nicole. Part I.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter got so long I split it in two. If I survive the next couple of days at work, I'll try and post part 2 on Wednesday. No promises though...
> 
> WARNING:  
> Implied parental abandonment.  
> Unhealthy (but not abusive) relationship.
> 
> Nothing bad, unless one of those is a trigger for you. No hate speech or anything. I know a couple of Disney movies that are worse...

               A new start. Nicole needed a new start, away from everyone’s expectations. When she’d met Shae, she thought she’d found ‘true love’. They’d met on a rock-climbing trip and Nicole had fallen instantly. Shae was gorgeous, funny and incredibly smart. She could match Nicole while climbing, which was rare. And they both had a secret, shared passion for Brittney Spears. And after a few too many drinks (which, to be fair, was anything more than one for Nicole), they woke up with rings on their hands.

               They thought they were lucky. They were halfway across the country when they’d met, but their schools were in the same town. Shae was in med school. She was a few years older, but she had done some crazy “finish your degree and start med school at the same time” plan, so they were slotted to finish school at the same time. Nicole was at the Naval Academy, studying to be an MP, but she had finished her tour before starting at the academy, so she was a free woman at the end of the program. Nicole and Shae had big plans for after they finished. Shae would start her residency and Nicole would apply for any and all of the local law enforcement agencies nearby. They had a plan.

               Nicole’s friends soon became Shae’s friends and Shae’s friends soon became Nicole’s. Although their lives were so different, the two groups meshed together perfectly. Their whole group shipped ‘HaughtPress’ (which Nicole thought was the dumbest name, and frankly kind of creepy.) She thinks their friends are why she had to leave.

 

               Nicole thought they were happy. And they probably were, at some point. But talks about the future soon turned into fights about the future. Shae only thought about her residency. Every residency she applied to had Nicole researching the town. Most were cute and had plenty of opportunities for Nicole. But Shae’s top two didn’t. They were both in areas where there were a surplus of police officers, and no potential openings. She’d even asked her CO to reach out, but he came up empty too. When Nicole brought this up, Shae didn’t seem bothered, even though Nicole was supposed to be the one bringing in enough money for them to live on while Shae, essentially, worked for free. Nicole went to her friends to vent and for sympathy, but got neither. They all loved Shae too much and valued her career over Nicole’s. She heard it so much, she had started to believe it too. Until her graduation from the academy. She got three different job offers on the spot and several more offers for interviews. She was ecstatic until Shae started vetoing the offers because they weren’t close enough to her potential residencies. Nicole had no family at her graduation; she wasn’t even sure why she bothered to send an invitation, she knew they wouldn’t show. And her friends were all preoccupied with their families. Shae was supposed to be _her_ _person_ , but was berating her for _daring to think of herself and her future_. It was her breaking point. She’d broken up with Shae on the spot.

 

               Nicole had a summer internship with the local FBI drug task force. It had been planned since before graduation. She moved into the lodging the FBI provided for interns. It was more college dorm than apartment, but Shae got their place. And their furniture. Nicole didn’t really have anything to move with her, so she really didn’t need more space. She could deal with it for a few months.

               Nicole tried going out with her friends a few times after they broke up. But her closest friends had both left for internships in other cities and it wasn’t quite the same. Their friend group seemed to be taking the break up of ‘HaughtPress’ harder than either of them were; not that Shae wasn’t extremely pissed and very vocal. Every time she went out with their friends the conversation inevitably turned towards their relationship and possible reconciliation. She started leaving every time it came up and soon she just stopped showing up. Her internship was solitary and those dinners with friends were all that she’d had. She found herself at the gym more than ever before, and even she was noticing how skinny she was getting. It wasn’t healthy, but she didn’t want to be one of those sad cop stereotypes that went straight from work to the bar every night.

 

               With two weeks left in her internship, she started to very seriously consider the offers she’d gotten. She had had two more interviews since graduation, and now had six offers to consider. She eliminated two right off the bat: couldn’t stand to stay local. One of the other offers was eliminated rather quickly because of the undercover element. She’d done a bit during her internship and hated the lying and deception required. Number 4 was eliminated after a little online research revealed the homophobic and misogynistic policies in place. That left two: Chicago and Purgatory, the little town she’d never heard of and couldn’t find without the Internet. The ambitious part of her was leaning towards Chicago, where there were a variety of divisions and task forces and plenty of room for promotions. If you’d asked her when she’d graduated, she would have jumped on the first plane to the city. But now… Now she knew how lonely cities could really be. She’d been nomadic since she left home almost 10 years before. The sheriff had offered her that chance to settle down; have a real home; a place to belong. Nicole didn’t think she’d ever really had that. And none of her research had suggested that they were as homophobic as she expected. The local high school had a GSA, which wasn’t much, but it was something.

 

               Ultimately, going to Purgatory was a spur of the moment decision. She confirmed with the sheriff, finished her internship, packed up her stuff and started the long drive to Purgatory all in two weeks.

 

* * *

 

               When she arrived in Purgatory, she had no idea what to expect. She’d never been to Purgatory; her interview had been over the phone. She wasn’t even sure what the sheriff would look like. Sure, she’d imagined what a small town sheriff would look like, but stereotypes, you know? He could actually be 20 years old, scrawny and still waiting on puberty (in theory, not reality). Turns out, Sheriff Nedley was exactly the scruffy, tough but fair, middle aged man she expected. When she arrived at the station, he was giving out assignments to the assembled deputies, all of which looked exactly like the small town deputies she’d imagined. She had waited patiently for the man to be done, before walking up to introduce herself.

               “Sheriff Nedley?” she asked, extending her hand. One thing she learned in the military was the importance of a strong handshake. You could tell a lot about a person by their handshake. And from Nedley’s handshake, she could tell he was a strong, steady man. Powerful, but didn’t feel the need to dominate; you could tell he wasn’t someone you wanted to mess without him saying a word.

               “Nicole Haught. Glad you made it out here. People sometimes get turned around leaving the big city.”

               “Your directions were spot on, sir.”

               Nedley didn’t respond, just one nod of his head before he started walking off. Nicole wasn’t sure where he was going, but she didn’t hesitate to follow. He stopped in front of locker number 5 and grunted as he tried to open it. “Always sticks. But it’s the only one open right now. Gun locker on the top. Personals on the bottom. Always keep a spare pair of boots. Gets messy out here.”

               Once he had backed away from the locker, Nicole peered in, nodding at his instructions. She looked at the latch on the locker, “I can fix this. It’s just bent outta shape a bit.” She nodded to herself and stepped back next to the sheriff. He looked at her and gave her, what could generously be called, half a smile. He waved his arm as he turned and Nicole took that as her cue to follow. The entered his office and she sat in the chair across from his desk. Nedley shuffled the papers on his desk around and cleared his voice.

               “There’s actually quite a bit of paperwork and Pam, that does dispatch and HR work, is home with her son. Sick. So you’ve got me.” He finally found the file he was looking for and opened it up.

               “Basic stuff. You can read and sign most of it at home…This is the salary agreement. Benefits. Gonna have to ask Pam if you’ve got questions…This is the handbook. Read it cover to cover. Some things are different out in the country…Ah. This is the one Pam insisted I help you fill out. Liability and Next of Kin. Can get complicated.”

               Nicole’s head was swimming with all the information being thrown at her; trying to juggle all the papers he kept handing over.

               “Alright. Let me read these notes she left…Ok. So… You married?”

               “Divorced.”

               “Hmm… I think that means I move to the next option…”

               “Dependents? Kids, or siblings or disabled parents…There’re probably more options…”              

               “Nope. Estranged, actually.”

               Nedley stopped and looked at her. Actually froze in place while his eyes searched her face.

               “So mom isn’t going to be the next of kin… ok. Anyone else that could lay claim to you some how?”

               “No, sir. Kind of why I moved up here – no one to miss me.”

               Nedley grunted in what Nicole thought was displeasure, so she continued. “I’ve spent ten years looking for home, but I’ve never been able to find it. Thought that maybe if I stopped trying to replace what I was missing and just find somewhere to belong, that maybe I wouldn’t feel so lost. Sounds stupid out loud, I guess.”

               “Hm. We’re all looking for somewhere to belong. I came back from serving and settled in like I never left. But some guys came back and it wasn’t ever the same. Had to go somewhere else to finally feel at home.” He started shuffling other papers around. “I know you had other offers – one of my buddies is at the academy - sent me your name. He told me you’d be one hell of a cop, but he thought you could be so much more.”

               Nicole was about to ask him what that meant, when he stood and handed her the rest of the papers. It was obvious that she was being dismissed. “Turn the rest of these in to Pam on Monday, you can’t start until it’s all filed and such.”

               He grabbed his hat and ushered her out the door. “Let’s find Lonnie. He was in charge of setting up your place. Can’t guarantee what it’ll look like, but it’s yours.” He didn’t wait for a response, or check to see if Nicole was following. Next thing she knew, she was being handed off to a plain looking man, mid- to late-30s. He showed her where the cruisers were parked and had her follow him to the place.

 

* * *

 

               Nicole’s new place was… bare. Tidy, but bare. Lonnie’s wife had cleaned the place until it shined, but everything was empty and the walls were a dead sort of white. But nothing a few curtains and a can of paint couldn’t fix. Her first instinct was to empty her truck into the house, but she knew that if she started moving in, it would forever stay as it was. She had three days before she started work and if it wasn’t done then, it never would be.

               She walked the rest of the house, looking at the general lack of furniture and sighing. She’d need some serious money to get anything more than a bed and a few cans of paint, but she had to start somewhere. She’d get more furniture as she settled in.

               The door wasn’t locked when she came, so she didn’t bother locking it now. She pulled the three biggest boxes out of the bed of the truck, placing them on the old crates left in the shed next to her place. She only made it halfway down her long driveway before deciding to go back and unload the rest onto the front porch. There wasn’t anything to steal, but looking around at what needed to get done…she was going to need some serious supplies.

 

* * *

 

               She had planned on going straight to the hardware store she’d seen on her way into town, but a sign caught her eye as she was turning on to the main road. “Purgatory High Yard Sale Fundraiser” She turned into the high school parking lot on instinct. There seemed to be a lot of teenagers in various uniforms, but that was about it. Still, she parked her truck and got out.

               “You lost?” One of the boys, helpfully, asked.

              “Nope. Just looking at what you’ve got.” She started wandering along the tarps, eyeing the items laid out. The kids seemed unsure of what to make of her. She walked the length of the tarps and came back to the start, where most of the kids were standing. “You guys all one sale, or each tarp it’s own thing?”

               A cheerleader stepped forward. “All the extra-curriculars share the profits. We’re getting close to the end though, so name your price.” The attitude that came with the words would have scared most adults off, but Nicole recognized the bark. They weren’t used to strangers and they were trying to get rid of her.

               “Well… I just got hired on as the new Sheriff’s Deputy and my house is unfortunately empty. So... I’ll make you a list of what I want, pay asking price on your stickers and offer an extra $50 on top if you load it into your trucks and deliver it.” She looked around at the group or assembled teens and their questioning looks. “I need some paint and supplies, so I can’t fit it in the back of my truck.”

               Nicole’s not sure what part of that threw the kids off, but they all stared for a moment, before one of the soccer players spoke up. “So, for $50 bucks, we load it and deliver it to your place?”

              “Yup. But you carry it in and put it where I tell you.”

               A few of the football players looked around at each other and nodded. “We could do that.”

               Nicole nodded once and grabbed her bag out of her car.

             “Alright. Then who wants to write?” She handed her pad off to the perky girl that threw her hand in the air. “I’ll tell you an item and the price, you write them down. Yeah?” The girl nodded.

 

               Nicole and her perky friend went up and down the rows with an entourage. The teens moved with a practiced efficiency; by the time she’d marked an item down on the paper, some kid or other had picked it up and carried it down to the empty tarp at the end. 10 minutes in and she’d already furnished her living room and most of her bedroom (she’d have to order a mattress from the city), and was going through the dishes. She wasn’t going to have a matching set, but she’d have everything she’d need to cook and feed a small army.

               A young man in a bright blue polo walked up and stood quite awkwardly at her side while she counted silverware. As soon as she finished, she turned and looked at the boy, waiting for him to speak. He cleared his voice and wrung his hands before finally getting any words out.

               “The Chess Club was talking, and we think we could help. We’re very good with details and have great fine motor skills.” He stopped talking and she looked at him expectantly. He looked over at his group of friends for encouragement, before continuing. “We would be happy to make a deal with you, like the football team did.”

               Nicole looked over at the boys loading couches into the back of the truck. She looked back at the chess captain, suddenly understanding. “What did you have in mind?”

               “Franklin knows the place – his girl friend’s family lived there last year before her dad had to move to the city. He thinks that we could paint the whole place in a day. If you had the paint and stuff, we could come tomorrow and paint the whole place for you.”

               “Don’t you have school?”

               One of the girls standing behind him spoke up. “Only if you haven’t passed the PATs…” The boy turned to face Nicole with a knowing look.

               She fought to reign in a smile as she said, “So you guys are all free to paint tomorrow.”

               The boy held out his hand. “$75 and we’ll paint the whole inside tomorrow.”

               “Deal.”

 

* * *

 

               Nicole eventually made it to the hardware store, only to get lost in the paint section. Even a small place like this seemed to have several-hundred color options. She had three different paint swatches in her hand, but no idea how to choose. In the end, she let the toddler playing with the paintbrushes choose the color for her living room. She grabbed half a dozen brushes and just as many drop cloths before moving on to the lumber section. Her fence was a mess and bound to come down with the first storm. She loaded her truck up with all the tools she knew how to use, 30 or so fence panels and her painting supplies, before heading back toward her place.

               The football players were already unloading the furniture, while her perky friend barked out orders. “I didn’t know where you wanted everything, so I made a few executive decisions.”

               Nicole was frightened as she walked in, seeing girls and boys unloading dished from boxes in the kitchen. But everything seemed logical, so she left it alone and walked into the next room. One boy in a football jersey was instructing the others on how to place the furniture to best suit the lighting in the room. They grumbled as they rotated the sofa back and forth but seemed proud when he judged it “just right!” She moved on to her bedroom, where all of her suitcases were stacked next to the dresser and trunk combo she’d bought. She took a deep breath and dove back into the chaos, coming back onto the porch. The guys loitering around the front yard were moving all the supplies from the back of the truck into the small shed, everything that had been in there before had been moved into her room. Her perky friend walked back over.

               “We went ahead and started unloading the kitchen stuff. Gretchen is a notoriously good cleaner, so we knew your kitchen would be ready. The boys moved all the boxes in, but we didn’t want to open anything, you know? And I heard the chess team is coming tomorrow to help paint.”

               “You are very efficient.”

               “Thank you.”

              Nicole shook her head at the girl and pulled her checkbook out of her backpack. “What was the total of everything I purchased, again?”

               “$187.25”

               “Plus $50… Let’s round it to $250.” The girl’s eyebrows flew up as Nicole handed over the check. “For the extra work. I’ll pay the chess team the extra $75 after they finish painting.”

               “Holy sh- sorry, you’re a cop.”

               “And you’re a teenager. You can swear – just not in front of kids or moms, ok?” The girl nodded with wide eyes. Nicole just laughed and headed back inside to check on the kitchen. The boys from the living room were now placing chairs around the table and cans in the pantry.

               “Where’d those come from?”

               “Oh. My dad’s one of the other deputies. When I told him where I was going after the yard sale, he made me come and pick them up. There’s a casserole in the oven. Mom didn’t want you to starve.”

               It was said so casually, and with such teenage indifference, but it felt huge to Nicole. Someone cooked for her. Someone she didn’t know, that wasn’t getting paid, made her a meal out of love so she wouldn’t be hungry on her first night in town. She’s not sure how she managed to tell the boy to thank his family, but he didn’t give her a funny look, so she must have done ok. The kids slowly started trickling out, with only a couple remaining to give her the tour of her kitchen. By the time they were done, there was only one car parked next to her truck.

              As she watched them leave, she realized how alone she really was.

 

* * *

 

               Nicole had always wanted a cat. Her best friend had a cat growing up and she had begged for one of her own, but her dad was allergic. Then she was active duty. Then the academy. Then Shae.

               But now. Now, she was going to get a cat. Or maybe a dog. Or a hamster… She had driven into the city to get a bed while the chess kids were painting and decided to just peek in the rescue shelter on the corner. Now it had been an hour and she was no closer to deciding.

               “You’re new right?” Nicole hadn’t even noticed the teenager walk up behind her. She must have had a confused look on her face, because the girl continued. “I’ve spent my whole life here. I know everyone, but I don’t know you.” Her smile seemed genuine and put Nicole at ease.

               “Nicole Haught. New deputy.” She said, shaking her hand.

               “Yeah you are!” Said the teen with an added eyebrow wiggle for emphasis. She laughed as she walked away, waving for Nicole to follow. “You’ve probably heard that a million times. But even if that wasn’t your last name, we’d probably call you The Hot Deputy anyways.” Nicole wasn’t exactly sure how to deal with a teenager so blatantly flirting, but the girl didn’t seem to need any help keeping the conversation flowing. “All the other deputies are my dad’s age. Not hot. Although photo evidence says that Hank used to be hot, like a million years ago.” She was walking around the cages looking at the different animals. “I am really good at pairing people with their perfect pet. You’ll probably be a workaholic, so you need something independent; low energy would probably help too… You don’t have kids, so that doesn’t really matter… You’re single, or else you wouldn’t have moved here…” Nicole wanted to interrupt her, but the girl’s thought process fascinated her. “I’m guessing there won’t be a whole lot of men coming through…”

               “Wait, what?”

               “You’re like… the _poster child_ for Super Gay!”

               “Woah. Just because you’re queer friendly, doesn’t mean everyone else is. Keep assumptions to yourself. It’s not always safe to out people like that.” Nicole was struggling to keep her voice calm, but it certainly wasn’t quiet.

               “Am I wrong?”

               “No. And I _am_ out. But not everyone is. Bad shit happened to me the last time someone was that casual with _my_ identity.” Nicole’s voice cracked and she had to pause to take a shaky breath. “You’re very observant and it’s fascinating. But sometimes people keep things to themselves for a reason. If you go around listing facts people don’t want listed, you could get them or yourself in a tight spot.”

               The girl looked at Nicole for a moment. “Yup. Definitely a cop.” She walked away again, coming to a stop in front of the last cage along the wall. “This is your cat, right here.”

               Nicole walked over to peer into the cage. “She’s old, kind of lazy, but very loving. To women. Doesn’t really like men very much. She’s the kind that’ll curl up on your lap, but also won’t mind if she doesn’t see you for a couple of days. Just leave her food bowl full and get one of those refilling water bowls and she’ll be fine. She’s pretty good at keeping mice away too, which is good for your pantry.” The girl was slowly petting the cat as she talked. “I wanted to keep her, but she scratched Dad before he could get close enough to pet her.” She looked up and added, “they said no” as if in needed explaining. The whole thing reminded Nicole why she tried to avoid prolonged experiences with teenagers. But as she hesitantly approached the cage, she thought that maybe this one was right this time. The orange tabby was beautiful. And fat. Or maybe fluffy. But she sat there like a queen on her royal thrown and let Nicole pet her. And when Nicole stepped back from the cage, she stood up and walked to the front of the cage, meowing at Nicole to pet her some more. Nicole could picture reading with the cat on her lap or on the couch beside her. It would be nice to have something else living in that house.

               “Ok. Tell me everything I need to know about cats.”

 

* * *

 

               The teens had done a good job painting. They were as meticulous as they said they were and the colors really made the place seem more like a home. Nicole had never really had anything other than white on the walls, but she was loving the subtle yellows and greys. She fed them pizza and after they had cleaned up the supplies, she wrote another check out to the school fund. They never said it, but she knew they were proud that they’d brought in more money than the football team. She remembered the rivalry that happened between all the different clubs and sports; everyone vying for money and recognition. And she was happy that she had managed to furnish and paint the place with the little bit of cash she’d brought with her. She hadn’t wanted to start her new job already on credit, but knew it could be pricy to furnish a place.

 

               She brought her new roommate into the living room and set her loose, watching as she carefully sniffed every inch of her new residence. There were still boxes everywhere. She had gotten some help bringing the mattress to her room, but the bed frame still needed to be assembled and everything put away. She had two more days as a civilian, before she officially started at PSD. Then, she could really start living. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I split the chapter into Part I: backstory/pre-Waverly, Part II: Nicole's side of the story thus far. I know you guys probably would have been fine with the 9,000+ words I've written for Nicole, but it takes me too long to proof read and I never would have gotten anything posted tonight. Think of it as a two-for-one! Plus, this Pride Month challenge means I'm having to split my time up a bit. But One-shots are kind of my jam, so...


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Part II of Nicole's story.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So there's going to be a Part III of Nicole's story because there's just so much to catch up on. I had tried to get this done for Wednesday, but as I was writing the next bit, I contradicted myself. So there have been a lot of rewrites the last couple of days. Sorry.

           Nicole stood looking in the mirror. She had just turned in the giant packet of forms to HR. In exchange, she got 4 brand-new deputy uniforms. The pants were pressed neatly; her shirt was tucked in; her boots shined. Her duty belt and hat were sitting on her desk, along with her jackets. Everything needed to get squared away into her locker, but she couldn’t wait to get into her uniform. She knows it’s silly – cops couldn’t wait to get out of their uniforms and into plain clothes. But Nicole loved it. Her internship didn’t have a uniform, not even a dress code. And maybe it was the military or all the years of playing sports, but she really loved the uniform. It stood for everything she was and everything she wanted to be. And odds were that she’d come to hate the awkward khakis and ill-fitting men’s shirts. But right now, she loved it. And she’d wear it with pride. One last check in the mirror…

           Nicole quickly situated her jackets and spare uniforms into her locker. She was supposed to meet this Hank guy in 5 to get the supplies for her duty belt. She had to complete her on-the-job training before she got her firearm, but she’d have cuffs and a Taser and a vest. She’d carried a knife on her every day for as long as she could remember, and even though it wasn’t part of the official equipment, she already had it tucked in her belt pocket.

 

           Nedley had promised to show her around this afternoon – start her training. She had been excited until she realized that the job included a lot more “stop and talk to the locals” than she had realized. Not that she had a problem with that, she was very friendly, problem was that they all talked to Nedley, not her. He’d introduce them and then everyone would pretend she wasn’t there. It went on like that, all afternoon and Nicole felt the tension in her neck building. But it was her first day and people sometimes take a while to warm up to someone new.

 

           Day 7 on the job in Purgatory went a lot like the previous 6. She’d been in town almost two weeks, but people still treated her like a tourist. She’d met Shelia four times now and yet it like “50 First Dates.” She’d understand a bit more if it weren’t for the fact that she generally stuck out like a sore thumb where ever she went: tall, female, redhead, sheriff’s deputy uniform…

 

           Nicole spent more time with her cat than she’d like to admit. She’d had a hard time meeting people and the only people that had invited her to dinner were the little old ladies from the local knitting club. She liked them enough, but she also knew that when they invited her over for dinner, it was because they needed help with something, not because they wanted to be friends. Nedley’s daughter was nice enough, and brought her coffee sometimes, but that’s not really a friend either. And the only people that regularly said hi to her were the high school kids she’d bought all the stuff off of; not exactly friend material. She liked them, for teenagers, but there’s a certain level of professionalism required there. The only people around the station even remotely her age were the BBD duo, but they were so private that that seemed hopeless. Basically, being the new kid sucked and Nicole was beyond lonely. She was determined to keep up her front, but Nedley saw right through her.

         “So. Nicole. You’ve been here a couple of weeks now. How are you settling in?”

         “Great!” Nicole answered a little _too_ enthusiastically. “I finally got all the IKEA furniture set up. Have a few screws left over which is a little disconcerting, but it’s starting to look like a house. And I’m not getting lost as much anymore. Still sometimes on the outskirts, but in my defense, there aren’t any street signs out there.”

         Nedley cleared his throat, hesitated and finally asked, “So…you making any friends? Outside of work I mean.”

           “Well… There aren’t a lot of people my age around here and Mrs. Weatherly is the only one that’s invited me to dinner or anything, but I think that’s just because I’m tall and she needed her smoke detector batteries changed. But it’s ok, because I’ve found a couple of cool hiking trails and my cat really likes her new feather toy I brought home last week…” Nicole trailed off as realized what she was saying.

           “This town doesn’t generally trust new people. But so far you’ve been steady and fair. People will see that and they’ll come around. Have you been to Shorty’s yet?”

“Um, no. I didn’t think I’d be welcome. People get pretty quiet when I come by…”

           “If people are going to start seeing you as one of us, they need to see you trying to fit in. Everyone goes to Shorty’s at least once in a while. And it’s a great way to get a feel for what’s going on in the town. Nothing makes friends like a shared bottle of whiskey or a round of beers on your tab. While you’re there, introduce yourself to Waverly Earp. She’s the heart of this town and she’ll be your first friend around here. Just be nice, smile and she’ll introduce you to everyone you need to know.”

“Where do I find Waverly?”

           “Your break is coming up. Head to Shorty’s. She ought to be in by now. I’d go for a coffee, not a beer right now. We’re not that small a town.”

         Nedley phrased it like a question, but Nicole knew she’d be heading to Shorty’s for her break. It might not be too bad; she could end up with a friend.

 

* * *

 

 

           Nicole was determined to befriend this Waverly girl. She’d just walk right in, smile, say hi and go from there. She could definitely do that. She could definitely be normal and cool. People loved her! She walked through the first set of doors, took her hat off and a deep breath and pushed through the second set of doors. She wasn’t sure what she expected, but she did not expect the bar to be empty or the taps to be going haywire.

           “I didn’t know Shorty’s had wet t-shirt competitions.” Nicole’s first instinct was to run to help her, but she got the taps shut off before Nicole could react. When the woman turned to face her, she realized exactly how gorgeous she was. She was slight, but all muscle, judging be the toned arms and shoulders and the slim fit of her tank. Her hair was long and impossibly smooth…She was absolutely adorable.

           “You ok?”

           “Yeah. I, uh” she gestured with the towel, “Just a bit jumpy. Had a, a crazy night.”

           “Sorry I wasn’t here to see it.” The deputy sidled up to the bar and leaned in. “I’ve been, uh I’ve been meaning to introduce my self. I’m Nicole, Nicole Haught,” she said extending her hand. “And you’re Waverly Earp. Quite a popular girl around here.”

“Oh you know, it’s all in the smile and wave.”

           Nicole could feel Waverly watching her and slowly met her eyes. They were beautiful, but so was everything about Waverly. Nicole was doing her best to fight off the gay panic. She was here for a friend. A friend. Get the conversation back on track Nicole.

           “Can I get a cappuccino to go?”

           “Oh, I’m really sorry. Um, we’re not actually – open yet so…”

           “Oh, right. My bad! It’s just… when I see something I like, I don’t want to wait.”

           Smooth. So much for not flirting.

           “And your front door was open, so…”

           “Oh – I’m sopping wet.”

           Not flirting with you Nicole. Keep your shit together.

           “I keep telling Shorty to fix the darn taps. Sorry, do you mind just, uh?” She mimed covering her eyed.          

           “Oh, right!”

         Nicole mimed the same thing back and turned her back to the bar. She could hear Waverly moving around behind her, but she tried not to think about what she was doing. She knew that Waverly was just changing, but the idea of Waverly taking her shirt off short-circuited her brain a bit. She took a could of deep breaths.

           “Oh! Oh crap! Um, uh, uh, Officer? I’m stuck, so please.”

           Nicole hesitated, trying to be respectful, but her voice was pleading. She was not expecting Waverly to have her shirt halfway over her head, arms locked in, button caught on her hair. Nicole finally registered what she said and quickly came around the bar.

“Here, let me help you with that.” The two women struggled to get the shirt over her head, “I got you.”

           “Good job you’re not some guy, right? Or this would be really, really awkward.” Waverly added.

           Nicole lost all ability to play it cool. She had been working really hard not to check Waverly out, but she was _aware_ of how smooth and soft her skin was. And she had tried not to, but she had noticed the hint of lace on her bra. She tried to stay cool, but she couldn’t help but slip into what her friend Hilary used to call ‘bashful puppy’ mode. Waverly had a slight blush as she hurried to cover herself with her tank, so Nicole wasn’t as subtle as she had tried to be. She wanted to tell Waverly that she wasn’t she wasn’t some creeper, ogling her, but Waverly didn’t look ticked off or uncomfortable, just shy.

         “Um… I-I owe you one.”

           “Alright. Well, how about you buy me that cup of coffee? How about tonight?”

           “Oh, I can’t”

           “No?”

           “I mean, I’d love to – like, like to, uh, but I have plans.”

           “Yeah…” Way to freak her out Nicole!

           “I’m a planner. I like to know what I’m doing at least two, or three, days in advance. I’m in a relationship. With a boy. Man!”

           “A boy-man. Yep, I’ve been there. It’s the worst.” Nicole walked around the edge of the bar and picked up her hat. “Ok. Well, some other time.”

         She pulled a business card out of her pocket and threw it down on the bar. She turned and walked towards the door. “I mean it.” She threw a smile over her shoulder and placed her hat back on her head. She caught just a hint of a smile from Waverly as she headed through the doors. Not the worst meet-cute.

 

* * *

 

           Nicole knew better than to open the door to the BBD offices. Last time she had, she’d be threatened with death from a guy with a stick so far up – well, let’s just say that he might actually do it.

           “Hey. You asked to be alerted whenever things come over the wire that seem…unusual?”

           Dolls managed to be marginally friendlier to the officer this time as he responded, “Yeah, we’re coming. Thanks.” But that’s as far as his manners extended; “Waverly, you’re dismissed.”

 

           Nicole couldn’t help but sneak a glance at Waverly. She had heard that they were bringing her in as a researcher. Apparently, she was the local historian and resident brainiac. They met eyes and Nicole smiled. She couldn’t have helped it, even if she’d tried. Every time Nicole saw Waverly, her crush got a little worse. And she _knew_ it was a disaster to have a crush on a straight girl, even more so when her boyfriend was one of those guys. She was trying to fight the bashful puppy feeling, but the way Waverly looked at her said that she hadn’t done as well as she’d tried. Everything she learned about her just made her like her more.

           Nicole finally brought herself to leave, but needed a moment to collect herself. Dolls came walking out of the office, ignoring her, but expecting her to follow. It was going to be a long day.

 

* * *

 

           Nicole found herself nearly jogging to get back to the station. She had convinced Waverly to grab a quick lunch with her, only to get lost in conversation. She was going to get a lot of shit for taking that long of a lunch, but it was so worth it. Lonnie barely looked up as she came speeding in, huffing slightly. She quickly grabbed her gear and her keys, apologizing the whole time.

           “I’m so sorry, I lost track of time.”

           “Uh huh.”

           “I’m normally so punctual, I don’t know how I didn’t realize how much time had past.”

           Lonnie sighed and looked up. “Honestly don’t care that you’re late. You’re the kind that would work the extra 20 at the end of your shift to make it equal. If you were being lazy…”

           Nicole looked at him, opened her mouth to say something and then shook her head. She walked by his desk, giving him a nod in passing and headed out to her patrol car.

 

* * *

 

           Nicole hadn’t expected any action. She certainly hadn’t expected anything involving Waverly, but her boyfriend and her sister were involved and she was in charge of notifying. She hated voicemail, but Waverly didn’t pick up. She didn’t pick up and now Nicole had to give her really shitty news over the phone.

           “Hi Waverly. It’s Nicole - I mean Haught – Officer. Haught. Um. There’s been an…incident, down at the hardware store. No one’s hurt!! No. But your sister has gotten herself into a bit of a jam. And maybe Champ too? I’m not sure. We don’t know much right now, but I’ll keep you updated… You should still have my number, or you can call the station…We’re not going to let anything happen to them Waverly. Just… just, um, call me when you get this? Or I’ll call you when we know something… I’m sorry Waverly.”

 

* * *

 

           Nicole had gone to the Shorty’s wake, because Nedley invited her; because it was expected that she’d go. But she’d also gone for Waverly. Waverly was her new friend and she hated seeing her hurt like that. Champ had been there and had been trying to comfort her, but Nicole swears that Waverly was glad that Nicole was there. She had left fairly quickly, agreed to go out on patrol again so someone else could go to the wake. But sitting out on the edge of town, watching for cars and waiting for a call, just seemed to give her brain all the room to wander. All she could think about was the pain she saw on Waverly’s face and how much she wanted to be the one to take that pain away. Champ had been all over her, but that just seemed to annoy Waverly. Or maybe it just annoyed her. But Nicole wouldn’t smother her like that. She’d hold her hand and let her cry. Or not. She’d let Waverly decide what she needed. Anything she wanted, she’d get or do for her. Watching Champ hold her like that…

           Waverly was more than just her friend. No matter how much Nicole tried to deny it, Waverly had already taken a part of her heart. She knew she’d go to the ends of the earth for that girl. But that wasn’t her job. And Waverly…Waverly wasn’t her girl.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As much as I love writing Nicole's side, I can't wait to get to the sisters telling Nicole about the contract. I started outlining it this morning and it's going to be a behemoth!


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nicole: Part III.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some of this will seem very familiar as we get caught up to where we left off before our Nicole journey. Is it possible to purger yourself? Probably. Oops! But when you fight so hard to get the dialogue/scene right the first time around, it's hard to bring yourself to change it. (The scene with the tea is exactly the same, but I rewrote it a dozen times and it just never worked).  
> And, as per usual, the characters and much of the story belong to the show writers. Sometimes you just shouldn't mess with a masterpiece.

              Nicole was just being a good friend. Friends brought each other lunch all the time. They even went to their favorite bakery and got their favorite sandwiches. What friends did not do was obsessively watch the door to their office, waiting for their friend to surface. Or quietly track how long it had been since they’d eaten. Or blush when their friend opened the door.

              “Hey Waverly!”

              Nicole couldn’t help but smile at Waverly. Everything about Waverly made her smile, but when Waverly smiled… She definitely got lost in Waverly’s eyes longer than generally socially acceptable, and was only broken out of her trace by Waverly clearing her voice.

              “Hey Nicole. What brings you here? Crazy case? Old-timey relic?”

              “Nope. Just take out from our favorite bakery,” she said, holding up the bag of food in her hand and smiling.

              “Jealous! I could kill for a sandwich right now!” Waverly rolled her head, popping her neck, and sighed.

              “Well, will you promise not to kill me if I just give you the sandwich?” Nicole asked jokingly. She pulled a veggie sandwich out of the bag and handed it to Waverly, along with a bag of salt and vinegar kettle chips. “I promise I won’t judge your questionable taste in chips.”

              Nicole couldn’t help but add a smirk. She never could resist flirting with Waverly, but she wasn’t sure Waverly ever picked up on it.

              “You can’t give me your lunch!” Waverly tried to hand the sandwich back, but Nicole had already taken a couple of steps towards the door.

             “I’m not giving you my lunch” Nicole said laughing and shaking her head. She looked back at Waverly with a bashful grin and scratched the back of her neck. She held up the bag and added, “I have another sandwich in here – decided to try the veggie this time. And some _proper_ chips.” She help up the cheddar cheese ruffles and waved them back and forth a few times. Teasing Waverly was probably her new favorite hobby.

              She started to walk back towards the door. “I’ll let you get back to your research, I know you’re super busy…”

              “You do?”

              “Yeah. Lonnie said you got here around 8 am and I know you haven’t even taken a coffee break.”

              “What time is it?”

              “1:30. I swapped with Lonnie at 9. Have been manning the front desk all day, but I haven’t seen you. It’s finally my lunch break and a sandwich just sounded really good.” Nicole mentally smacked herself. Way to sound creepy.

              “Oh, wow! No wonder my back and neck are killing me. You want to eat together?” Waverly asked tentatively. “I – I mean, only if you want to! I was just thinking that, you know, you had a sandwich and I have a sandwich, thank you by the way, and I mean, we both need to eat, and why be lonely right?”

           Nicole smiled at Waverly’s rambling. “Sure. I’d like that. But maybe not, in here? I’m pretty sure Dolls’d kick my ass if he found me in here.” She said it as a joke, but there was way too much truth in her comment. She was brave, but she wasn’t dumb; she didn’t need to make an enemy out of Dolls.

 

* * *

 

             Nicole walked next to Waverly towards the break room. They were quiet, but it wasn’t awkward. They were comfortable enough around each other that neither minded the quiet as they started eating their sandwiches. Nicole kept sneaking glances at Waverly, trying to think of something to say. And she wasn’t sure, but she was fairly sure that Waverly was doing the same. After a deep breath, Nicole dove in.

             “So what is there to do around here? I’ve been here a few weeks and I think I’ve already run out of things to do.”

             “There are plenty of things to do around here, you just need to know where to look! Maybe not as much as the city, but it’s really not as boring around here as you think.”

             “Maybe I just need a local to show me around.” Why did everything she say sound so flirtatious? But Waverly didn’t seem to pick up on it.

             “I’d be happy to show you around!” Waverly was even more adorable (if that was possible) when she was excited. Nicole probably missed half of what Waverly was saying, getting lost in those eyes again, but she found herself agreeing to a hike that was supposed to be the best view in 150km. And the conversation just kept flowing. Nicole knew that she was crushing hard on her friend, but she was genuinely happy to just be friends. It had been a long time since she found someone that she could talk with so easily. She was usually pretty guarded, but Waverly broke down those walls in an instant. They talked local history, classical history and everything in between; Waverly seemed genuinely interested in the trivia Nicole threw out, which was rare. Normally people just laughed off her crazy trivia, but Waverly actually listened to what she was saying and asked for more. Nicole couldn’t be sure, but she thought that Waverly seemed to be enjoying the conversation as much as she was. She didn’t know Champ well enough to _really_ judge him, but she’d overheard enough of his conversations to know that they probably didn’t talk like this.

             Waverly kept her on her toes, throwing out new information and taking the conversation in new directions every time the conversation seemed to die down. And most of the conversations she had were pretty simple, surface level stuff. But Waverly was talking theory straight out of a graduate course and was telling her about Mesopotamian religions and how world religions had evolved and Nicole couldn’t get enough. She found herself hanging off of every word and was nearly devastated when she realized their food was gone.

             Waverly stood up first. “I should probably…” she said, waving towards the door.

             “Oh right.”

             Waverly was popping and cracking her neck and Nicole quickly glanced away when she reached her arms above her head to stretch, lifting her shirt nearly up to her ribs. She could feel the blush creeping up her neck as Waverly stood up from the table. Waverly was rubbing at her shoulder and sighing as Nicole stood up from the table to throw her trash away.

           “Hey Nicole? You don’t have any Aspirin do you? My neck is killing me and it’s only going to get worse when I go back to my books.”

           Nicole felt herself doing something really stupid, but next thing she knew she was saying, “I could help you with your shoulders. I’m pretty good with my hands!” She certainly didn’t mean to sound quite so flirty.

           “Oh, no. I can’t let you do that for me?” Nicole could feel Waverly hesitating, but she couldn’t figure out why. Maybe she wasn’t as comfortable with Nicole being gay as she seemed. Or maybe Waverly _had_ picked up on her flirting. God she was an ass!

            “Why– why not? I mean it’s no bother or anything…” She couldn’t seem to help but make it worse. Why did she keep opening her mouth?

            “Champ always says that I’m too needy and that there are people to pay for that. I mean I get it, it’s not really fun to put all that work in and not get anything out of it, but usually I don’t really feel up for… _that_ when my neck hurts, you know? Oh, God. I’m rambling again. Total over share!”

             Oh. Waverly thinks that shoulder rubs are exclusively foreplay. No wonder she was freaking! Champ was such an ass! You should rub your girlfriend's shoulders just because you care about her and don’t want her to be in pain. Or because you like being close to her. She puts her hand out to stop Waverly’s freak out.

             “I’m not offering because I want something Waverly; I’d never expect anything from you ‘cuz of a favor. I just hate seeing my friends in pain. My ex – um…ex-wife, bad Vegas story I’ll tell you another time, but, uh, she was a doctor. Studied a lot and always had knots. I learned how to get rid of knots pretty well.” Nicole was rambling this time, but she couldn’t seem to stop. “I could do you if you want.”

           Waverly looked at her for what felt like a really long time, and Nicole thought that she might be on the verge of a heart attack. She really didn’t want to freak Waverly out, but she also hated seeing her friend in pain. Waverly nodded once and peeled her sweater off, placing it on the chair. Nicole stood looking at the strong muscles in Waverly’s back and shoulders; tracing the definition in her arm muscles with her eyes. She’d never realized exactly how strong Waverly really was. Made sense, working at a bar, she probably had to lift a lot of heavy boxes and such. She watched as Waverly pulled her hair over one shoulder, exposing her neck. She snapped out of her trance when Waverly added, “Well, if you don’t mind…”

           Nicole hesitantly stepped up behind Waverly and tentatively placed her hands on her shoulders. Waverly took a deep breath, sighed and rolled her neck back and forth a couple of times. “I’ve always carried my tension in my shoulders.”

           Nicole took a shaky breath and tried not to notice how this angle showed just the top of a light pink, lacy bra sticking out of Waverly’s shirt. She could totally do this. It was just a favor for a friend. A really adorable, fucking gorgeous friend…

           The noises that came out of Waverly’s mouth as Nicole kneaded at her shoulders ought to be a crime! Nicole about passed out at one point when Waverly _moaned_. She just couldn’t keep her mind from going to where else she might hear that moan. And it was horrible! You weren’t supposed to think about your friends like that. But Nicole kept rubbing and Waverly kept moaning and Nicole thought she might die on the spot. Dolls must have had the same thought about the noises, because he hesitated in the door way, almost like he was checking to make sure he wasn’t about to walk in on a compromising situation. Nicole dropped her hands immediately and tried her best not to look guilty. Waverly was oblivious though; she just rolled her neck and her shoulders and sighed.

           “You were right about your hands! Amazing. I haven’t felt this good in a long time. I promise I’ll return the favor sometime!” She held up her hand to quiet Nicole before she could even speak. “I know, I know; I don’t have to, I don’t owe you. But I want to. I’m sure you need it as much as I did!”

             Nicole is sure that her heart stopped in her chest. And when Waverly stepped forward, placed her hands on Nicole’s shoulders and kissed her cheek, Nicole swore that Waverly lingered a little longer than one normally would. Her heart starting beating in her chest with a vengeance. She wouldn’t be surprised if Dolls could hear it, the way he was looking at her. His eyes flicked to Waverly as she grabbed her sweater off the chair and started out the door.

           “It’s just a quickie Dolls! I’ve been working hard all morning. I earned it. I’ll fill you in back in the office.”

          She walked out the door, but Dolls lingered. He stared at Nicole slightly longer than she felt comfortable and then tilted his head to the side. Nicole’s awkward rambling emerged again.

           “Do you think she heard it? Her words. How they could’ve sounded? No? No. Ok.”

           Dolls turned and walked out the door without ever answering her. Nicole could have died on the spot. But she just took a couple of breaths, trying to calm her heart and her mind. When that didn’t work, she headed to the sink to splash water on her face. She stood for a moment, griping the sink, water dripping down her face, before a voice calling her name snapped her out of her trance. She quickly wiped her face and ran off towards where Nedley was calling her.

* * *

 

             Nedley was slowly letting out Nicole’s leash. She was handling noise complaints and thefts on her own now. And she regularly patrolled on her own now. But he still had her walk the main strip with her fairly regularly. Some of the locals were warming up to her, but she could tell most of them still distrusted the newcomer. This included the group of older women that always sat drinking coffee out in front of the café gossiping every morning. She tried to be careful about what she said around them and she could tell Nedley was as well. He always changed the conversation away from police matters as soon as they came up.

             “So, Nicole…” Wendy, the queen bee of the group started, “What do you do in your spare time?”

             Nicole looked to Nedley for help, but he just raised his eyebrows, silently telling her to answer the question.

             “Well, I’m still trying to get settled, so right now I spend most of my spare time working around the house.” She could tell by the looks on their faces that that was not the right answer. “But, I really enjoy cooking and trying new recipes. Waverly was telling me about the farmer’s market and I thought I might go and get some fruits and vegetables to can for the winter. Maybe make some jam.” The older women were smiling now, but Nicole wasn’t sure what part of what she said did the trick.

             Amy, one of the other women, mercifully spoke up. “You like to make can and make jam? I usually have a canning party sometime around now. We could always use some young muscle in our group.”

             The women laughed. Another woman piped up, “Last year, Amy filled the pot with too much water and then none of us could get it off the stove. We had to empty the water out bit by bit with a smaller pot until it was light enough to lift off.” She looked Nicole up and down. “You look strong.” She added, appraisingly.

             Wendy piped in. “Don’t bother trying to set her up with your grandson, Helen. She’s as gay as a girl can be!” Nicole froze a bit in panic, glancing over at Nedley. He was as calm as he always was, but didn’t look over at her.

             “I’m not daft Wendy! I was thinking of Tracy. She recently told me she was one of those bisexuals. And I didn’t say it, but I was thinking ‘Thank God!’ That girl, bless her heart, has the worst taste in men. Maybe this way I can find her a nice girl instead. Someone like this deputy right here.” The look she gave Nicole made her blush and she couldn’t seem to find anything to say. Luckily, Amy piped in for her.

             “We need to find out if Nicole here can cook before we start setting her up with your grandkids.” She turned to Nicole. “Sorry, but if you’re terrible in the kitchen, you’d never last in that family.”

             “We’ll invite you to our next get together. We know everyone around here. We can find you a girlfriend in no time.”

             Nicole couldn’t think of anything to say other than, “okay.” Thankfully, Nedley ushered her away, telling the women that they needed to get back to their rounds.

             “That went well.”

             Nicole just looked at Nedley, unsure of what the hell just happened.

            

* * *

 

             Nicole guesses that she passed, because she was sent home from their canning party with enough jars to fill her entire pantry, and Tracy’s phone number. She had no desire to call Tracy, but knew it would be incredibly stupid not to. She was sure Tracy was lovely, but she only had eyes for Waverly. She knew she had about 24 hours to call before she ended up on Wendy’s shit list, so she tacked the number up on her board and promised herself she’d call in the morning.

             Her evening routine was already pretty settled: she would walk the house, checking all the doors and windows, feed the cat and settle in to the couch with a book or big plans for Netflix. She used to be lonely at night, but she was starting to appreciate the quiet and the way her cat would cuddle up against her, pushing her head under Nicole’s head. It was quiet and calm, but it wasn’t sad or lonely. She felt at peace more here that she had in a long time.

 

* * *

 

             Nicole did call Tracy and they did go out for drinks. The problem was that they went to Shorty’s. And Nicole had a hard time focusing on Tracy when Waverly had her Shorty’s shirt tied up around her waist. And Nicole felt like a total ass when Tracy asked her how long she’d been into Waverly. Only, Tracy didn’t seem bothered, in fact she seemed relieved. So Nicole found herself spilling her guts and finally telling someone about her massive crush felt like a weight was lifted. When she finally ran out of things to say about Waverly, she apologized, only to be cut off by Tracy. She pointed to a girl across the bar, playing pool with a group of guys about their age.

             “That’s _my_ Waverly.” She sighed. “She’s been with Tony since high school – they’re getting married this fall. I’m in the wedding.”

             “Ouch.” Nicole grabbed her hand where it was sitting next to her at the bar and Tracy leaned her head on Nicole’s shoulder. They sat for a moment and then agreed to get up and stop moping about the pretty straight girls in their lives. They spent the next couple of hours alternating between darts and their bar stools. They parted outside; Tracy pecking Nicole’s cheek as she held the door of the taxi open for her. The promised to call each other the next day, but they both knew they’d only be friends. The taxi driver gave Nicole a knowing look as she closed the door and she knew the whole town would know about her date by lunch tomorrow. She didn’t mind. Tracy was amazing. And she was happy to have another friend.

 

* * *

 

 

             News about their date did make it around town by lunch. She ran into the gossip queens who asked all about her date. She made sure to stay as vague as possible while still remaining complimentary. She promised that she already had plans to call Tracy, and that she’d be a perfect gentleman. They seemed happy as she left and she knew they were already planning their wedding. She’d have to see if Tracy knew how to get out of this gracefully.

             Waverly’s reaction to her date surprised her. She wasn’t sure what she expected, but an offer for a double date was not it. Her excitement over Nicole ‘finally finding someone’ broke Nicole’s heart a bit, even though she had known there wasn’t a shot, it still felt extremely final. As she walked back towards her desk, she felt her heart breaking just a bit. She texted Tracy asking if she’d be willing to join Nicole’s pity party.

 

* * *

 

             Nicole and Wynonna had never been close, but she could tell Wynonna needed someone to talk to. Waverly had come in with a bang, ignoring Nicole as she stomped back towards BBD. Nicole could feel her face fall and her smile disappear when Waverly ignored her hello.

             “Don’t worry Red. She’s mad at me.” Wynonna said casually, but she wasn’t able to hide the sadness in her voice. Nicole focused on the older Earp, leaning against the counter.

             “What’d you do?”

             Wynonna paused, but Nicole didn’t rush her. She leaned back against the counter, staring at the fall opposite Nicole. Wynonna was aiming for casual, but Nicole could tell she was facing away from her for a reason; trying not to let her face give anything away.

             “Told her the truth – what she needed to hear – even if she didn’t want to think about it. I tried ‘nice’ the first two times, but she didn’t hear me.”

             Nicole watched Wynonna as she talked, waiting as she turned towards Nicole.

            “You can only run from your fate for so long, before it finds a way to make it happen anyways.”

             She looked at Wynonna thoughtfully, trying to keep any judgment off her face. Wynonna needed a friend, not a cop. “Are we talking about you or Waverly here?”

             “Both.”

             Nicole watched as Wynonna peeled herself away from the counter and started walking away. Nicole could tell that she had a lot on her mind, could watch her fighting to figure out how much to reveal. She stopped at the door, hanging off the doorframe just a little, trying a little too hard to look casual. Nicole met her gaze as Wynonna searched her face. “Waverly could probably use a shoulder right now, but she won’t want mine.” Nicole didn’t say anything, just held eye contact until Wynonna nodded once and walked away. She had no idea what was going on with the Earp sisters, or what exactly she had promised Wynonna, but she knew that she’d do anything for Waverly. And right now, anything meant being a shoulder to lean on.

 

* * *

            

           “Knock, knock!”

           Nicole peeked her head around the doorframe of the break room. Waverly was standing in front of the kettle, hands gripping the counter top, staring at it like her vision could boil the water if she focused hard enough. Waverly didn’t seem to notice Nicole as she walked into the room, only registering her presence when Nicole placed her hand between Waverly’s shoulder blades and flipped the switch on the kettle. The sound of the water and the touch of Nicole’s hand seemed to snap Waverly out of her trance. She jumped a bit and then found herself crying again. She tried to hide it from Nicole by turning back towards the cabinet, but Nicole’s hand on her shoulder told her she didn’t do a very good job. Before Waverly realized what she was doing, she had turned into Nicole’s chest, burying her face in her shoulder and desperately clutching her shirt like it was the only thing keeping her grounded. She was full-0n bawling, and if she wasn’t so upset, she might have been embarrassed. But Nicole just wrapped her arms around Waverly and held her tight. Waverly wasn’t sure what Nicole was murmuring, but the sound of her voice and her quiet words were soothing in a way she hadn’t felt since she was small enough to be picked up. Neither are sure how long they stand like that, but Waverly’s tears eventually stop and they slowly pull away. Waverly apologized as she wiped her eyes.

           “You never have to apologize for being sad or crying Waves. And I’ll always be here for you.”

           “It just got to be too much, you know? Like… I’ve been avoiding so much and it just all hit me.”

           She sniffled and wiped her nose on the tissue Nicole had produced out of nowhere. Nicole leaned around Waverly to grab a cup from the cabinet above the kettle. The water had been ready for quite a while and Nicole needed something to do with her hands; looking at Waverly’s sad, broken expression made Nicole’s heart hurt. She’d gladly take the pain away if she could – she’d carry it herself in a heartbeat. As she measured the tea into Waverly’s silly “ManaTea” infuser, she wracked her brain, desperately trying to find the words to say to make it all better.

           “Sugar and cream?”

           Those were not the words. Nicole wanted to smack her hand against her face as Waverly nods in response, but she just reaches for the sugar and adds the two cubes and the splash of milk. She offers a soft smile as she hands Waverly the cup. The smile she gets back breaks her heart just a little, but the way Waverly reaches out and squeezes her hand tells her it’ll be all right. Eventually.

           She lingers a little longer while Waverly drinks her tea, leaning against the counter across from her. She watched Waverly like her face would suddenly tell her what was wrong. After a few minutes, Waverly finally spoke.

           “Wynonna said that she just needed to rip the band-aid off, that I hadn’t heard her when she tried to be careful. It definitely felt like it.” She paused to finish her tea and Nicole didn’t interrupt, knew she would keep talking if Nicole was patient.

           “She was right though. I didn’t want to hear it – don’t want to hear it. There are suddenly so many big decisions in my life, but I don’t feel like I actually get to choose. I feel like my choice was made for me a long time ago. Only, I don’t like the choice and I don’t really like the other options either. So I’ve been running. But I can’t keep – I can’t keep running anymore. And I don’t know how to fix everything or just… stop feeling trapped. Lots of people settle down and get married and they’re excited about it – they can’t wait! But…I just feel trapped, and – and desperate. That’s not how you’re supposed to feel. That’s not what people feel when they get married. At least that’s not how my friends talk about feeling… I don’t know. I’m sorry, this isn’t your problem – you don’t need to hear all my problems.” Waverly sighed as she turned and placed her cup in the sink.

           “Champ proposed?” Nicole hated how weak and sad her voice sounded.

           “Not yet. But it’s just a matter of time, isn’t it? Wynonna is giving him Mamma’s ring and we’ve been together for years, so…”

           “You love him?”

           “Small town, limited dating pool. But he’s good to me, so I can’t complain.”

           “That’s not an answer Waves…”

           “You know, you’re the only one outside of my family that calls me that?”

           Nicole swears her heart stopped for a moment. “Oh. Should I stop?”

           Waverly smiled a soft smile, “No. I like it.” Then she turned and walked out the door, leaving Nicole confused and sad. Waverly never did answer her question.

 

* * *

 

             Nicole heard about Waverly and Champ breaking up through the gossip grapevine. She reached out to Waverly, checking up on her, but Waverly didn’t seem bothered by their break up at all. Champ had been ranting about how Waverly had lost her mind and they’d get back together any time now. Gus shut him down in front of all his buddies, telling them that Waverly had finally realized she could do better than Champ. The ‘real’ story of their break up spread pretty quickly through town. Waverly’s intellect was revered amongst the older town folks, so Champ telling her to turn her mind off was on par with him getting caught with another woman. There was no sympathy for Champ amongst them. But young single women were suddenly coming out of the woodwork. Even Nicole could admit that Champ was a good-looking man; _if_ you could deal with his serious personality flaws. But not everyone looks for the same thing in a partner, who’s Nicole to judge.

 

* * *

 

 

           Nicole had been staring at the same files for so long that her eyes were starting to blur. She’d been left with the files for these grisly murders, on call on a Saturday night. Not that she’d had any other plans, but maybe she could have if she hadn’t been working.

           “Saturday night. I'm the town pariah with ten years of bad deeds and social suicides to make up for, what's your excuse?”

           “Nedley.

           “Say no more. Bosses are the worst.” Nicole looked up at Wynonna as she added, “also, I'm scared mine might be dead.”

           The look Nicole gave her had her backpedaling. “Oh, kidding.”

           She looked at Wynonna. She seemed even more skittish than usual, and although she drank a lot, she seemed to be gripping the bottle like it was the only thing holding her up. She didn’t seem drunk.

           “Are you sure you're okay?”

           “Mm-hmm.”

           Nicole wasn’t even slightly convinced that she was really fine, but she decided to indulge Wynonna and change the subject. “At least I'm not the only one who wasn't invited to the party. Makes me feel better.”

           “What party?”

           Smooth move Nicole. Luckily, Wynonna didn’t seem to expect a response. Before Nicole knew what was happening, Wynonna was sitting on her desk, pointing the bottle of whiskey at Nicole’s face, saying: “You’re officially drinking with me, Red!”

           “I’m on the clock Wynonna!”

           “Your shift ends in 20 minutes, right? I’ll go find snacks!”

           “Wynonna!” Before Nicole could even finish her name, Wynonna was out the room and heading down the hall. Nicole eyed the bottle of whiskey warily and braced herself for Hurricane Wynonna.

 

* * *

 

           They’d been passing the bottle back and forth for a good ten minutes before they ended up sitting on the ground. Nicole kept trying to change the subject, but Wynonna was stuck on Waverly’s party.

           “You know exactly who she invited too” Wynonna started, giving Nicole a look. “Chrissy Nedley.”

           “What?! Sheriff's daughter?”

           “Mm-hmm! And Stephanie Jones. You know, one time, Stephanie told me that I should think about getting a butt lift.”

           “What?! Your ass is like - It's top shelf, man. It's top shelf.” With anyone else, Nicole probably would have been embarrassed about her honest assessment of Wynonna’s ass, but Wynonna seemed genuinely appreciative. Nicole was tipsy enough to admit checking out her ass, which was a dangerous place to be. She had a tendency to get a little too honest.

           “Have I pulled Waves too close?”

           “You know, I think that Waverly has spent her whole life tailoring who she is to the people she's with. She's only now just starting to figure out what she really wants.”

           “Dude, you're like a walking bumper sticker. Who's armed! Waverly should be hanging out with you.”

           Nicole knew Wynonna was talking about them being friends, but…

           “I agree.”

 

* * *

 

           Nicole couldn’t believe she’d let Wynonna jerk her along like that! She’d acted like she was finally going to let Nicole help, only to freak out and shut her out. They’d been working so well together, studying photos and autopsy reports. Wynonna had hardly bothered trying to hide the creepy part of the case and Nicole had gotten her hopes up. Then, just ads quickly as their collaboration started, Wynonna ran off.

           Nicole had followed her out of the room and into the break room, where she was slamming cabinets, desperately trying to find something.

           “Nobody keeps booze in here, Wynonna! Except you.”

           Nicole was fighting very hard to keep her cool, but she didn’t like being jerked around. Wynonna wasn’t telling her everything and whatever it was she was hiding, was enough to have Wynonna genuinely afraid.

           “You want to tell me what the hell is going on?”

           “No idea.”

           “Bullshit! I think somebody's trying to scare you, toy with you. Why?”

           “I picked up this case, like, an hour ago, how could –“

           “It be connected to you?” Nicole interrupted. “Yeah, I would really like to know that too. People getting eaten by something? Call Wynonna. Guy gets murdered by a man in a mirror? Yeah, Wynonna to the rescue.”

           “Black Badge specializes in cases that are, uh, too complex for rookie flatfoots, so it makes sense that you're a bit confused.”

           “I'm not.”

           “You're awfully interested in me and my sister. Maybe I should be grilling the shit out of you.”

 

* * *

 

               Nicole didn’t even hesitate when Wynonna asked her to drive out to the Homestead. They didn’t talk the whole ride out there, but Nicole wasn’t really doing it for Wynonna. Waverly and Chrissy needed her help. They quickly split at the house, Wynonna going straight for her sister and Nicole going to check on Chrissy. Nicole took Chrissy’s statement, not surprised by how thorough she was. She radioed to Nedley, telling him his daughter was ok, and they’d return to the station after they finished taking statements. Nedley said he’d send the crime tech and coroner out to the scene. Chrissy wanted to stay with Waverly, so Nedley offered to pick up both of them and bring them back to his place until everyone had cleared off Earp land.

                “Your sister okay?”

                “Yeah, well, she's being Waverly.”

                “Chrissy says she scissored a stripper. “ Nicole couldn’t help but smile a little bit at the thought and she was happy to see Wynonna do the same; even if it was short lived.

                “So? Any idea why your homestead was targeted? I mean, besides the fact that it's yours.” Nicole couldn’t keep the bite out of her voice, but Wynonna seemed to expect that.

                “You know what, we should get some breakfast. I could murder a sack of pancakes. Then we'll talk, really talk.” Nicole knew Wynonna was offering an olive branch, but she wasn’t quite ready to take it yet.

                “You’re gonna help me understand why some of these cases are a little too complex for local flatfoots?” she bit out, but Wynonna didn’t rise to the fight.

                “I'll do my best.” The resignation in Wynonna’s voice cooled Nicole’ anger quickly.

                “Your boss gonna be okay with that?”

                “My boss isn't here. Guess you're my ride.”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this chapter ends right where chapter 8 starts [all the Jack scenes], and now we're all caught up!! We'll resume our story next chapter.
> 
>  
> 
> So, probably TMI, but I'm having surgery later this week. Nothing big, but I'll be out of commission for a few days. I'm going to update Wednesday, but probably not again until next week. Odds are that I'll sleep for a few days straight, but if I get bored, I might be able to pop out another chapter. That means that if you read my other fic (Pride Month Mini-Fics), expect the posting to be funky as well. If I get a bunch written between now and then, my friend agreed to help me post so I don't get too off, but I wouldn't get my hopes up too much. Sorry! Some things just can't be helped.


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nicole finds out about the contract...sort of.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this is really short, but it was the perfect place to stop. It's got to get worse before it gets better, right?

           Waverly froze. It had never occurred to her that Wynonna might pick a woman. And why would it? It’s not like they’d ever talked about her sexuality, not that Waverly was sure what she’d say anymore if they had. And now Nicole and Wynonna were walking towards her and Nicole was smiling that smile that always made Waverly melt. And Waverly had to fight to keep her panic to herself and not run from the porch. She was three deep breaths into her yoga breathing when they reached the porch.

           “Hey Waves.”

           That voice and the bashful smile and the nickname… Waverly’s heart was going crazy in her chest and she had forgotten how to speak. Wynonna looked back and forth between the two ‘friends’ that were locked in their heart eyes and felt _way_ more confident about her idea. If _she_ could see the love-struck, dopey looks they were giving each other, then surely other people had noticed. Wouldn’t be so hard to fool them if they didn’t really have to lie.

           “Sorry about my sister Haughtstuff, she didn’t know we were having company.” Wynonna’s words snapped Waverly out of her trance and made her suddenly aware of how little clothing she was wearing. She squeaked and ran back inside the house. She was in her nightclothes! Her shorts barely covered her ass and her baggy sweater hung off her shoulder, making it very obvious that she hadn’t bothered putting on a bra that morning. She couldn’t believe she had let Nicole see her be such a mess! She probably had bed head too. She was going to kill Wynonna.

           Wynonna knew she was going to catch shit later for surprising Waverly, but the looks on their faces…priceless. Nicole was gaping at the door like a confused puppy that had their bone stolen away. So worth it.

           “Come on Haught. Let’s get some coffee. Waverly will be back any minute. She’s far more modest than I am.”

 

* * *

 

 

           They were sitting at the kitchen table, nursing their coffees when Waverly came back down. She was wearing a soft, thin flannel tied around the waist and tight skinny jeans. Nicole was dumbstruck. And Waverly’s blushing, bashful smile said that she’d noticed. Waverly filled her cup back up, doctoring it until it tasted just right, before sighing and sitting down at the table. Her eyes lingered on Nicole again before she finally turned to her sister.

           “What have you told her?”

           “Nothing. Just that we needed her help.”

           Nicole watched them, as they seemed to communicate without talking. Waverly seemed to be pleading with her sister, who just looked amused. She watched as Wynonna stood up, walked towards the cabinet in the living room and pulled out an old looking paper. She laid it on the table in front of Nicole and sat back down. She looked at both of the sisters, before looking down at the document.

           This wasn’t the real document. Dolls had helped them create a new contract that had a slightly more…believable justification for the marriage. They had imagined they might need to show Nedley at one point and he seemed determined to avoid any hint of the supernatural. And when Wynonna had picked Nicole, she knew they’d need evidence for her to believe them.

           The sisters watched as she read, her face getting more and more puzzled as she went. Waverly’s leg was bouncing and shaking, and despite Wynonna’s casual look, Waverly could tell she was nervous as well. Nicole looked up, opened her mouth to speak and then turned back to the paper in her hands. She read through it one more time before finally speaking:

           “I’m not a lawyer.”

           “We know.” Wynonna chimed in. “We already found a loophole.” She looked at Waverly, who took the hint and took over the explanation.

           “My dad was an ass and in serious trouble. He got in way over his head with a bet and had no way out. They had planned on making him watch as they killed his family, before finally killing him. We had no money, but our land is valuable. They had wanted him to gift the land to them, settle the debt that way, but the land deed says it has to stay in the family. Daddy loved Willa and Wynonna and couldn’t imagine marrying them off to the creep, but he didn’t care enough about me not to sign the papers.” At the part about their dad, Wynonna grabbed her hand and squeezed hard. Nicole’s face looked angrier and angrier as Waverly went on, but she didn’t say anything, she just let Waverly finish. Waverly took a deep breath, trying to keep the tears away, before finishing their fabricated story.

           “They were willing to be patient; knew the land would be even more valuable now. So they agreed to wait until I was much older.” She took a steadying breath before finishing. “I have two weeks before they come to collect.”

           Nicole surprised both sisters when she suddenly stood up and started pacing the living room. They sat at the table in stunned silence as they watched her walk back and forth. She stopped in the middle of the living room and took a deep breath.

           “You said you found a loophole. I’m guessing that’s where I fit in to this mess.”

           The sisters paused, looking at each other. Waverly nodded at her sister, who began to talk.

           “There’s a way we could settle the debt without Waverly having to marry the guy…” Wynonna looked at her sister again, before turning back to Nicole.

           “If there was a… reason, that Waverly couldn’t marry him, we could find a different way to settle the debt. Our first idea was to fake her death, but she’d have to leave everything, everyone, and never come back. Not to mention that if anyone caught wind that it was faked, they’d find her and kill her. We couldn’t risk that.” She paused and took a deep breath, looking down as she continued. “If Waverly were… already married…they’d be forced to take our cash offer.” She finally looked up at Nicole, seeing the moment that Nicole realized the implication of that sentence.

           “You want me to marry Waverly,” Nicole said quietly. At this point, Waverly jumped in, rambling as she always did when she was nervous.

           “The idea of marrying this guy…I can’t! I can’t marry someone like that, someone who’d agree to marry a _child._ And then there was Champ. But when Wynonna started talking about him being our way out, my world felt like it was crashing in on me.”

           “I remember.”

            Waverly smiled slightly at the soft look on Nicole’s face. “And then Wynonna started talking about Aromanticism and the idea of platonic life partners, settling down and starting a life together, having a family together, and it sounded so much better than Champ. Finding someone I love and care about to settle down with sounds amazing. And I know you don’t like me like _that_ , but you don’t need to. We get along so well, you’ve become my best friend, and the idea of marrying you isn’t scary.”

            Nicole was dying on the inside as Waverly talked. The chance to marry the girl she was absolutely smitten with, but as friends… best friends. And Waverly was wrong when she said that she didn’t have feelings for her, but she didn’t seem to want her to have those feelings. It was heart breaking. But she knew that she’d do anything for Waverly, and so did Wynonna. The look Wynonna was giving her… it was like she knew what was running through Nicole’s head. Waverly kept going, but Nicole hardly heard her.

           “I know it sounds like there’s nothing in it for you, but I really think it could help you fit in around here. You’ve talked about how hard it is to get people to trust you. But marrying me would practically make you a local! They stupid rodeo clowns would finally stop trying to hit on you. It’s not the adultery never happens around here, but everyone knows not to even flirt with a married person in public. Fastest way to the local shit list; it takes years for people to let you live that down.”

           Wynonna put her hand on Waverly’s forearm, effectively stopping her ramble. She looked at Nicole. “There are some… requirements. You’d have to stay married at least a year; could be longer. We have to have the debt completely settled before we risk you guys splitting. And you’d have to move in here.” Nicole started to object, but Wynonna headed her off. “Married people live together. And everyone around here knows that Earps live on Earp land. It’s not really safe for us anywhere else, especially now.”

           Nicole could tell that there was more to that statement than Wynonna was letting on, but she also knew that Wynonna wasn’t going to tell her.

           “Doc and Dolls have agreed to help me convert the barn into another house. You guys will be able to live here and I’ll live in the barn, but it’ll take a while. For now, we’ll all have to squish in here together. I’ve been sleeping over there, so there’s an empty room in the back. We can trash his furniture and move your stuff in here. We obviously don’t have much, so it’ll all fit, or we’ll make it fit.”

           When Wynonna stopped talking the house was silent; she could hear the wind outside and feel their eyes on her. She stood up quickly and practically ran to the door. The sisters stood and followed her, catching up as she was walking down the stairs. She looked up at Waverly and the sad, scared, helpless look on her face and felt her chest bottom out. She knew she was close to a panic attack or meltdown or something; she had to get away.

           “I don’t know – “ her voice cracked and she had to clear her throat and try again. “I don’t know if I can do it. I… You know I want to help you, keep you safe, but I don’t know if I can… I just some time.”

           Tears were filling Waverly’s eyes, but she nodded. She hoped she was wrong, but it felt like she was about to lose her best friend. She could hear her breath coming in short, frantic bursts more than she could feel it, but she willed herself to stand there, to stay strong. She watched Nicole drive off and felt as if she was losing everything. Wynonna tried to put her hand on her shoulder, but she shrugged it off, bolting from the porch. She didn’t know where she was running, but she couldn’t stay there.

           Wynonna watched from the porch, feeling her own heart breaking. More than anything, she wanted to protect her sister. She just didn’t know how.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about any errors, not my best editing. Just wanted to get this chapter out there. One of my favorites so far, even if it's pretty short.


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The girls freak out and everyone's on hand to give advice.

               Nicole didn’t drink. And she certainly didn’t get drunk. But desperate times called for desperate measures. And she knew drinking wouldn’t solve anything, but she couldn’t handle everything she was feeling. So, without even thinking about it, she found herself parked in front of Shorty’s, stowing her knife in the glove box. She didn’t recognize the bartender, but she rarely came in if Waverly wasn’t working. Waverly. She needed a drink and she needed it fast. She was tempted to order a whiskey, but she was trying _not_ to think about the Earps. So she ordered a long island and practically threw her card at the bartender. She couldn’t bring herself to feel bad at her curt behavior, and the bartender didn’t seem bothered at all. He quickly went back to his conversation with a local she sort of recognized, happy that she was taking her drink to a table in the back.

               She quickly downed half her drink, before starting to trace patterns on the table in the condensation. Waverly needed her help – needed them to get married. And Nicole had always thought that she’d do anything for Waverly, but she didn’t know if her heart could handle being married to Waverly like that. Not that she hadn’t thought about marrying Waverly. She’d imagined them together in the long shifts sitting in her cruiser. She’d pictured them cooking together in her tiny kitchen, Nicole placing her hand on the small of her back as she squeezed past her to get something from the fridge. Or kissing Waverly after tasting whatever sauce she was making off the spoon. She’d imagined nights in front of the fire, cuddling under a blanket and lazy mornings, drinking their coffee on her porch. She’d never let her mind wander anywhere sexual out of respect for her friend, but she’d spent hours imagining their life. And here she was with the opportunity for _most_ of that dream to come true. She downed the rest of the drink quickly and headed back to the bar.

 

               An hour and 3 more cocktails later, she found herself at the bar between a couple of locals debating hockey teams. There was some serious disagreement about which team they should be rooting for, but it was, surprisingly, all good-natured. She looked up at the sound of the kitchen door swinging open only to see a very angry Gus walking her way. The locals on either side of her quickly moved away from the bar, leaving her alone to face Gus. The anger quickly switched to disappointment as she looked at Nicole. She wanted to shrink away, hide under the bar.

             “Officer Haught, drunk in my bar.”

               Nicole couldn’t do anything other than grin sheepishly and slide off her bar stool. She wobbled as she started to retreat out the door.

               “You are not leaving my bar in that state. Keys.”

              “They’re already behind the bar. I was planning on walking.” She tried to creep closer to the door, but stopped when Gus looked at her.

               “It’s 3pm. Nedley would not be happy with one of his deputies walking home, drunk as a skunk in the middle of the day.” She looked Nicole up and down before saying, “Kitchen. Now.”

               She sheepishly followed Gus into the kitchen and took a seat in a chair. Nicole knew better than to speak as Gus flitted around the kitchen filling a plate up with food. She slid the plate in front of Nicole and sat down, watching as she ate. Neither spoke until the entire plate had been cleared.

               “You’re not one of my usuals. So what are you running from?”

               Nicole had never wanted to tell anyone anything more than she did right now, but she couldn’t betray the sisters’ trust like that, so she just sat there gaping like a fish, before finally looking down. Gus looked at her for a moment, before speaking.

              “Is this about Waverly and the contract?”

               Nicole’s eyes shot up. She looked at Gus panicked, but Gus just chuckled at her.

               “You really think something that big would happen to my girl without her telling me. Though Wynonna just told me she asked you. Don’t think Waverly knew about that part of her plan until this morning.”

               Nicole just looked at her, willing the tears not to fall. She ducked her head down and Gus continued.

               “Makes perfect sense to me if we’re being honest. The way you love that girl, wouldn’t surprise anyone that you would marry her.”

               Nicole’s face was panicked and she tried denying it, but Gus just kept talking over her. “If you being in love with Waverly was supposed to be a secret, you're doing a terrible job keeping it; it’s written all over your face every time you see her. And even _Wynonna_ picked up on it. I love her, but she is oblivious to the world around her.”

               “I don’t know if I can do it Gus.”

               “No one’s forcing you, you know?” Nicole looked puzzled. “There are other people Waverly could marry, just no one she cares about as much as you.”

               “As a friend. That’s not really fair to either of us, is it? Me marry a girl that sees me as a friend and her marrying her friend that is crazy in love with her…”

               Gus knew she could save them all some trouble and tell Nicole her suspicions about Waverly’s feelings, but it wasn’t her place. It had to come from Waverly. And Gus could nudge them together, but ultimately, it was up to them. She placed her hand on Nicole’s arm.

               “Just be honest with her. Waverly has always appreciated honesty.” She paused for a moment, making sure Nicole was looking as she went on. “No one is going to hate you if you say no. You just have to decide if you can be happy with what Waverly’s offering. You’re afraid of marrying her, because that’s what you want more than anything. But can you be happy with friendship like she’s offering? Waverly will be ok without you, but she won’t be happy." Gus stood up, taking the plate from in front of Nicole. "I’m going to call you a cab. You need to sleep it off. This is a decision you make sober.”

 

               Before she knew it, Nicole was in the back of the town’s only taxi, being driven out to her house. She stumbled into the house, almost falling over as she kicked off her shoes. She downed several large glasses of water before falling face down on the couch. She knew she’d regret sleeping there in the morning, but she couldn’t will herself to get up and move to her bed.

 

* * *

 

               Waverly was looking for her sister. Wynonna had left for BBD while Waverly was gone. She’d had time to think, time to worry about losing her best friend and now she needed her sister to tell her everything was going to be ok. Only, life was currently shitting on Wynonna as well, and Waverly couldn’t bring herself to add anything else. BBD had sent in a shrink with a lie detector and Dolls had let them walk all over her. Now Waverly was facing her problems alone. Again. And her shift was over, but she couldn’t bring herself to go home to what she was sure was an empty house. So she took a bottle of whiskey to where she knew Doc was camping.

               He had the decency not to speak, just drink when she passed the bottle. And when she swore him to secrecy (on his hat), he went along with no complaints. And before she knew it, she was confessing everything. It felt nice to talk to someone and have them really listen. She told him about her father and the contract. She told him about Wynonna springing it on her and Nicole. She talked about her friendship with Nicole and how much it meant to her. She confessed that she was starting to think that maybe she wasn’t as straight as she thought and how much Nicole confused her. She talked about how much it bothered her to lie to Nicole and confessed how scared she was that Nicole would say no. She talked and talked until she found herself with nothing to say. And the whole time, Doc listened.

               When Doc finally spoke, it was profound and earth tilting. She shouldn’t have expected anything less, but still found herself stunned.

               “Maybe your fear is not that Nicole will say no, but that you want her to say yes.” She just stared as he went on. “It is peculiar that you could not handle the idea of marrying Champ, after being together for years, but are terrified of losing Nicole after a few weeks.”

               He patted her shoulder and handed her the bottle.

 

* * *

 

               Nicole slept fitfully and got up before the sun, giving up on sleeping any more. She went for her usual run, only making it half way before throwing up what little left in her stomach from the night before. She walked the rest of the way home, feeling more disappointed in herself than she had in a long time. She downed an entire pot of coffee, forced down a bacon and egg sandwich and stood under the hot shower water much longer than she usually did.

               She wasn’t scheduled to work, so she wore her plain clothes to the station. Nedley looked confused when she walked in, but just nodded when she picked up the unfiled paperwork on her desk. She went back to the office Wynonna had found her in before Jack and he dove into her paperwork, determined to keep her mind off Waverly _and_ Jack.

 

* * *

 

               Dolls found her several hours later at the same desk. He stood in the doorway, waiting for her to finish what she was writing. He gestured towards the door and she nodded, turning her chair towards him as he closed the door.

               “Gut instinct: what are you feeling about the Waverly situation?”

               “Terrified. And guilty. For even thinking of saying no.”

               Dolls looked at her, softer than she had ever seen him before. “Self preservation isn’t something to feel guilty about.”

               She sat there for a moment, trying to collect her thoughts. If everyone else knew about her feelings, there was no reason not to be honest. “How do I marry her and not get lost in the illusion, in the act? How do I protect my heart, remind myself that it’s not real, when we’re working hard to convince everyone that it is?”

               Dolls didn’t answer right away. He looked at her thoughtfully, before speaking. “How do you do it now?”

               “What?”

               “How do you be her friend when you hang out and not let your emotions overrun you?”

               “I don’t know. I guess I just remind myself that we’re just friends.”

               Dolls doesn’t need to speak for Nicole to hear his ‘there you go’.

               “The idea of hugging her, holding her hand, pretending to be her wife when we’re just friends, just seems…wrong. Where's the line? It’s a consent issue I think.”

               “So you talk. You talk about boundaries before you get married. And you keep talking as you go, making sure you stay on the same page.”

               Dolls turns to leave, but stops. “If it helps, I really think you are her best option. This conversation just proved that – who else would be this worried about her welfare, about consent and not taking advantage of her. We’ll all understand if you can’t, but no one else will care the way you do. And Waverly deserves someone who cares about her like that. She deserves the world, but she keeps getting the shit end of the stick.”

               He turned and left without waiting for Nicole to respond.

* * *

 

               Waverly had meant to talk to Nicole. She had planned on talking to Nicole, but kept chickening out. And every time she about got up the courage to talk to her, something new popped up. But Nicole hadn’t sought her out either.

               Or maybe she had because she was walking through the door, smiling as she saw Waverly. And it wasn’t the same as her normal smile, there was a hint of sadness she couldn’t quite conceal, but it was close. And Waverly felt her anxiety fading away. Because Nicole still might say no, but she wasn’t going to lose her friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is where the story truly diverges from cannon. Willa is about to make an appearance earlier than expected and stir up all sorts of trouble.


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nicole and Waverly talk. Really talk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had to break this chapter into two (it just got away from me!), so I decided to post the first half today and the rest Friday. 
> 
> Let me know if you see any crazy typos!

           Nicole spent way too long pacing back and forth in front of Shorty’s. Every time she made a decision, whether to say yes or to run away and hide, Waverly’s face would pop in her mind and she’d waver again. The second she walked through the door, she knew she’d say yes. She couldn’t even remember what she had decided on before walking in; she saw Waverly smiling at her and the only thought running through her mind was ‘yes’.

           She tried to be cool as she slid up to the bar, but she was increasingly nervous, and the locals staring at her was only making it worse.

           “Hey Nicole! What can I get for you today?” Waverly put on her sunniest smile and tried to calm her racing heart.

           “Nothing. I mean… um… when’s your lunch?”

           Waverly’s eyes went wide and she looked around at the locals who were pretending they didn’t hear anything. She dropped her voice down to a whisper as she leaned closer to Nicole. “My lunch break is in about 20 minutes. Whenever the second bartender comes in for the day.”

           Nicole cleared her voice and hesitated. “I was thinking we could talk…at your break…talk about…” she looked around and dropped her voice even lower, “us…”

           Waverly put her hand on Nicole’s where it was tapping on the bar and Nicole finally looked up to meet her eyes. “Why don’t you have a seat at one of the booths over there.” She turned and grabbed a glass, filling it with the only beer she had ever seen Nicole drink. As the beer poured in, she added, “have you eaten yet? I could get you a burger.”

           Nicole took the beer Waverly handed her. “Um, yeah. That’d be nice.” She started to walk to one of the booths when she turned back to Waverly. With the closest she’d managed to a smile, she said, “Thanks Waves.” Their eyes locked for a moment before Waverly broke eye contact; lowering her eyes, she prayed she wasn’t blushing. Nicole turned and walked the rest of the way to the designated booth.

           As Waverly wrote down the burger order and hung it up for the cook, she overheard part of the conversation happening between the three older locals sitting together at the bar.

                 _“What was that?”_

_“It’s called flirting you idiot! Surprised your wife is still around…”_

_“I know it was flirting. I just didn’t know they were doing that now.”_

            _“Girls flirt with girls now. They even marry them sometimes.”_

_“Why the hell am I still friends with you assholes?”_

            _“I think he was asking about those two girls in specific. I’ve never seen them flirt either.”_

_“Thank you!!”_

_“My wife says they don’t do anything but flirt. They took almost two hours for lunch the other day and she said she’d surprised they didn’t get married then and there.”_

_“I’m always the last to know, aren’t I? My wife doesn’t tell me shit!”_

            _“I don’t think they’re actually dating. Carly thinks that Nicole is taking too long to make a move and someone else is going to snap Waverly up.”_

_“My wife is surprised she’d stayed single this long. Quite the catch.”_

_“Reckon that most guys are afraid of Champ.”_

_“Good thing Nicole isn’t a guy, eh?”_

 

* * *

 

           The time it took for Nicole’s burger to be ready and Waverly’s break to start felt like an eternity for both girls. Nicole drank her beer much faster than she normally would. And when she walked back to the bar for another, their fingers brushed and Nicole’s brain short-circuited again. The second beer went down even faster.

           Nicole could vaguely hear them talking at the bar, but she didn’t really process what they were saying. She knew they were looking back and forth between her and Waverly, but their faces were happy, bordering on teasing, and not angry and homophobic. Nicole couldn’t seem to get her leg to stop bouncing.

           Waverly brought Nicole’s burger over with a side of cheese fries for herself. She quietly sat down and they both started eating; neither knowing where to start. Once Nicole’s burger was nearly gone and Waverly had polished off her fries, Nicole finally spoke.

           “I need more details.”

           “I don’t really know if this is the place…”

           Nicole dropped her voice even lower and leaned closer to Waverly. “I want to say yes, Waves. But I need more details.” Their eyes locked again and Waverly realized she had grabbed Nicole’s hand somewhere along the way. She quickly cleared he throat and leaned back in her chair, but she didn’t let go. Nicole was looking down at their hands, and she found herself rubbing her thumb back and forth along the back of Waverly’s hand.

           “I need to know more before I can say yes.”

           Waverly’s heart jumped at the soft look in Nicole’s eyes. For the first time since she’d seen the contract, she felt calm. Safe.

           “Okay,” she breathed out.

           “Dinner? Tonight? My place?”

           She only nodded, before someone was calling for her from the bar. She quickly stood up, but didn’t let go of Nicole’s hand. She lingered a little longer than she should have, but she couldn’t help herself. She felt herself getting lost in Nicole’s safety until someone’s throat clearing broke her out of her trance.

           “Um. 7:oo ok? I’ll bring the wine?”

           “Sounds perfect.” Nicole stood and started clearing her mess.

           “I’ve got it. Want me to put it on your tab?”

           Nicole nodded with a smile, frozen to the spot, before quickly turning and almost running from the bar. Waverly knew she had a silly smile on her face when she turned back around, but she couldn’t bring herself to care.

           “Date with Nicole?”

           Normally she hated how nosy her coworker was, but this time she didn’t even try to hide her blush. She had a date with Nicole. A date to talk about their _platonic_ relationship, but she’d take what she could get.

 

* * *

 

           Nicole was regretting her dinner offer. She had no idea what Waverly like to eat beyond sandwiches! She’d finally settled on vegetarian lasagna, mostly to give her something to keep busy with while she waited for it to be 7:00. She’d started a list of questions on the back of an envelope, but she knew there was a lot they needed to talk about before any of this would work.

           Were they telling everyone in Purgatory? How long had they ‘been together’? PDA? Who would know it was fake? Quickie wedding? Nicole imagined that Waverly was one of those girls that had wedding Pinterest boards and a dream dress. How was Nicole supposed to make all of that happen in less than two weeks? And would she need to kiss Waverly? Holy shit! Why hadn’t she thought of that before now? People generally kissed at weddings! And married people kissed each other. Newly married people kissed _a lot_! Did Waverly even like kissing girls? And what would Nicole have to wear at this wedding? She imagined that people would expect her to wear a suit or her military dress, but what if she wanted to wear a white dress too? Did she want to wear a white dress?

           She was quickly spinning out of control. And running out of paper for all her questions. Nicole still had an hour before Waverly was set to arrive and there was nothing left to do but watch the lasagna bake.

 

* * *

 

           “Uh oh. Your closet exploded.”

           “Shut up, Wynonna!”

           Wynonna just threw herself across Waverly’s bed and watched as she pulled another outfit out of the closet. She held it up in front of her, stared at the mirror a minute, then sighed and threw it on the ever growing pile of discarded outfits laying across the chair. Wynonna groaned and lifted herself up off the bed. She shuffled through the pile before pulling out a pair of dark skinny jeans and a flowy white top and throwing them at her sister. Waverly looked at her questioningly, but put them on anyways. Wynonna dug through her shoes before finding Waverly’s favorite booties and holding them out. Once Waverly was changed, Wynonna gently pushed her to sit in the chair and started braiding Waverly’s hair towards one side. The more Wynonna braided, the calmer Waverly got, until finally her breathing was back to normal.

           “Please tell me this is all for Nicole, because I don’t have a plan C.”

           Waverly took a shaky breath. “She asked me to hers tonight for dinner – talk details and all…”

           Wynonna froze for a second. “She said yes?” She tried to sound calm, but she could hear the stress in her own voice. She quickly finished Waverly’s hair and sat back on the edge of the bed. Waverly slowly turned towards her sister and let out a breath.

          “Not yet. She said she had questions about the details.”

           “Like what?” Wynonna was playing with the fringe on the blanket, trying to give off an uninterested vibe.

           “I don’t know.” She quickly changed the subject, remembering the conversation from the bar. “Did you know everyone thinks we’re dating?” Her eyes were comically wide and Wynonna had to work hard to keep herself from laughing.

           “This plan didn’t come from out of left field, I’d heard the rumors…”

           “Rumors?” Waverly was on the edge of a freak out. Wynonna reached out and grabbed her hand.

           “This is a good thing Waves! It’ll be believable. The only people that’ll be surprised are the ones that don’t believe gay people exist or are dumb enough to think Chump is a catch.” Her try at humor missed, so she tried again. “People _want_ to believe in happy endings. The gossip is that you guys are together, have been since you ditched Champ, but are afraid of the small town reactions.” Waverly looked up at her sister with tear filed eyes as Wynonna continued. “People love you and they love Nicole. They’re rooting for you two, because they want you both to be happy. Only a few assholes out there care if you’re gay and they’re the ones that are still offended that women are allowed to wear pants, so I think you can do without them.”

           “I don’t know if I can do this, Nonna. I don’t know if I can marry someone – pretend to be in love with someone – just to get out of this contract. I mean, I know I can’t marry this guy, but… am I going to lose part of myself doing this? Playing this part?”

           “Who says it’s a part?”

           Waverly’s eyes went wide again, but she didn’t say anything.

           “You and Nicole fit. And I don’t know if that’s as friends or… more, but you guys always seem happy together. I don’t think you’re going to have to work very hard to ‘pretend’.”

           Waverly didn’t say anything, just turned towards the mirror and grabbed her eyeliner. Wynonna sat in silence, watching her sister get ready. She knew there wasn’t anything more she could say, she just wanted to be there – finally be there for her sister. So she sat quietly as Waverly finished getting ready, gently rubbing her hand across Waverly’s back whenever she tensed up. Waverly tried to drag out her make up as long as possible, but time would not slow down and she couldn’t drag it out any longer. Her sister followed her down the stairs as she collected her purse and coat.

           “I’ll be here when you get home, Waves.”

           “Promise?”

           “Promise.”

 

* * *

 

           Nicole and Waverly had spent the last half hour talking about everything _but_ what they both desperately wanted to talk about.

           Waverly had shown up at 6:58 and had anxiously checked her make up in the visor mirror, before taking a deep breath. She gave herself a quick pep talk as she walked to the front door and had managed to _appear_ calm by the time she’d knocked. Nicole answered the door, all smiles and steady confidence. She gave Waverly a quick tour and had them both laughing by the time it was done. Waverly had helped Nicole plate the food and carry it to the table.

           Half an hour in and Waverly had no idea how to bring up the giant elephant in the room. So she kept up the small talk, trying to enjoy their dinner. They’d talk after, right? Only, now they’d finished dinner; and dessert; and were each a glass of wine in; and Waverly still didn’t know how to bring the subject up. When their glasses were empty, Waverly volunteered to fill them up again; wanted the chance to breathe. She was standing in front of the bottle, gripping the counter, trying to find her nerve, when Nicole walked around the corner.

           “You ok?”

           “What? Yeah! Of course. Why – why wouldn’t I be?”

           “Because I invited you here to talk about getting married? Because we’re both freaking out and neither of us can figure out how to start the conversation?”

           “Oh. That.”

           They were silent a beat, before they both broke out laughing. Nicole reached around her and grabbed a little notebook that had been leaning against the kettle. She grabbed the bottle and nodded at their glasses before she walked back towards the living room. Waverly grabbed the glasses and followed, sitting in the chair next to the couch Nicole was on. Nicole quickly filled up both glasses before flipping open the notebook. Waverly took the hint and pulled out her own notebook she always had stashed in her purse. Nicole smiled at how very Waverly it was to carry a notebook in your purse.

           “I was thinking it might be easier to do this rapid-fire.”

           Waverly nodded, and Nicole took that as a cue to start.

           “Okay. Um, first… are we telling people this is real? Or…”

           “Yes? I mean, the fewer people that know it isn’t, the better right?”

           “Okay. So we tell people we’re getting married. How long have we been together?”

           “I don’t want to be that girl that left her boyfriend for someone else, or imply that you’re a rebound, but that doesn’t leave us much time. If you were a man, everyone would assume you knocked me up!” Waverly tried to laugh at her own joke, but she was already back to panicking. Nicole seemed calm as she kept going.

           “Why don’t we keep it close to the truth, huh? Maybe that’s easier to remember.” Waverly nodded, so Nicole kept going. “We were in denial until Jack. The last thing I thought of before I passed out was how I never got a chance to tell you how I felt. And when you heard I was in the hospital, you realized that your feelings were more than just friendly. When I woke up, we were all too busy trying to find Wynonna, that we pushed it to the side. But once Wynonna was safe, we finally faced our emotions and vowed to finally be together – not waste any more time apart.”

           Waverly looked at Nicole thoughtfully. “Sounds like you’ve thought about this a lot.”

           Nicole bowed her head and rubbed the back of her neck, before nodding. She looked at the next question on the list. “Who proposed?”

           “You.” Waverly answered so fast that Nicole looked up in surprise. She chuckled. “No question there?” Waverly just shook her head. “No one would believe that I’d propose. We need a cute story though.”

           Nicole chuckled and asked her why. “All my friends are going to ask. People will believe in our whirl-wind romance, but it’ll be suspicious if we don’t have a story.”

          “So what should our story be?”

           “Oh, nuh uh. You can’t ask me that! You’re the one that proposed.”

           “Actually…” Nicole said teasingly. Waverly gently smacked her arm, but genuinely smiled for the first time all night.

           “If you were going to propose to me, how would you do it?”

           Nicole thought for a second. “Well… it has to be relatively old-fashioned and chivalrous or it wouldn’t be believable for either of us…” Waverly chuckled. “I’m thinking…I brought a bottle of pricy whiskey out to Gus’ and had a heart to heart with her. Promised to honor you and love you. Asked her, not for permission, because you’re a strong independent woman, but her blessing, because she’s part of your family and that matters to both of us.” Waverly watched Nicole as she paced around while she talked. When she paused for a second, Waverly jotted down a few notes so she’d remember it later.

           “And then…I took Wynonna to the shooting range – buttered her up by letting her shoot some of the guns from our armory – “

           “You did that?”

           Nicole laughed. “Well, not because I was trying to get her to like me enough to let her marry you. Dolls thought she might take target practice more seriously if it was a competition between…friends rather than her boss nagging her. Don’t tell her that!”

           “Note to self…”

           Nicole and Waverly we both laughing at this point; the more they talked, the easier it got. Nicole tried to finish her story.

           “Annnnyways! We went to the shooting range, I let her try some of the big stuff, and then sprung the idea of marrying you. She was hesitant, at first –“

           “Nope! She’s going to hate that.” Nicole chuckled, but waved her on. “She said, ‘about f’in’ time Haughtstuff’ and told you that you guys were going to party – “

           “Which I tried to refuse – “

           “Unsuccessfully.”

           “Of course.”

           “The next morning, when you finally woke your drunk ass up, Wynonna dragged you out for pancakes.”

           “She threatened me with a slow, painful death if I hurt you.”

           “And then handed you Mamma’s ring.”

           “What?” Nicole had been following the story until that point. But she watched as Waverly reached in her pocket and pulled out a ring, holding it up for Nicole to see. Nicole tentatively took the ring from Waverly.

           “And then I invited you to my place for dinner…” Nicole was turning the ring over and over in her hand. She looked at Waverly and walked the three steps it took to close the gap between them. She locked eyes with Waverly as she went on. “I told you how much I love you and how I never wanted us to be apart…” She knelt down in front of her, “and I got down on one knee…” Nicole held the ring in front of her, “and I asked you to marry me.” Nicole froze, unable to breathe as she looked at Waverly.

           “And I said yes.” Both girls sat frozen, scared to move, scared to break the moment. Nicole desperately wanted to kiss Waverly, and was actually leaning forward to try, when Waverly’s phone rang. The girls jumped apart.

           “Wynonna! Now is not a good – What?... Okay. But Nicole and I – yes we were talking about it… I’ll bring her too…What’s going – fine! We’ll be there soon!”

           Waverly paused after hanging up with her sister, before turning towards Nicole. “Some crazy shit is happening at Shorty’s. Apparently it’s all hands on deck, which means you too!”

           “Oh. I didn’t hear anything from Nedley.”

           Waverly smiled slightly. She was seriously peeved that they’d been interrupted, but Nicole always had a way of making things seem a little better. She grabbed Nicole’s hand. “It’s not cop stuff, it’s bar stuff. And assuming this whole dinner is a yes…” She looked at Nicole who rolled her eyes and nodded. “Yes! Then, if you’re going to be a part of this family, then you’re going to get called when Gus is short handed and everything’s going to shit.”

           Nicole laughed. “Alright. Let me grab some shoes.” She walked into her room and stepped into her sneakers. Only then did she realize she was still holding the ring. She slowly walked out of her bedroom, holding it out in front of her. “What should we do about this?”

           Waverly looked at the ring and then at Nicole. “I guess… I guess I wear it.” Nicole nodded and slowly walked toward Waverly. She reached out, gently took her hand, and slid the ring on her ring finger. Waverly watched, enraptured, before finally looking up at Nicole. They both smiled shyly, before Waverly gestured with her phone.

           “Maybe we should…”

           “Right! Yeah. Um… Maybe I should. Longer arms.” Waverly laughed, but handed her phone over anyway. She wrapped her right arm around Nicole’s back and placed her left on Nicole’s chest. She smiled up at the camera and looked at how happy they both looked. Nicole took about a dozen photos before handing the phone back.

           “You should probably send that to your friends before we show up at Shorty’s.”

          “Right! Chrissy would kill me if she found out from anyone else.” She was scanning through the photos, trying to find the best shot.

           “I should probably send it out to the guys at work.” Waverly looked up at Nicole and smiled. She showed her the photo she’d picked (post filter application, of course), smiling when Nicole nodded her approval. They each took a few minutes sending the picture to their friends, before hopping in the car to head to Shorty’s.

           “We should probably clue your sister and Gus into our story, right?” Waverly nodded and frantically started typing. Once the group text had been started, Waverly started reading all the responses to Nicole. They arrived at Shorty’s before they’d had a chance to reply to them all, but one look at the crowd spilling out the door told them it could wait.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Willa is nothing if not fashionably late...


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nicole and Waverly deal with the crazy.

           Nicole wasn’t sure what she expected when she walked into Shorty’s. I mean, what could possibly have Shorty’s overwhelmed on a weeknight? Turns out, hockey. The local league was having an ‘opening night’ party after the first game of the season, (why hockey lasted 9 months out of the year she’d never understood). Problem was, they didn’t tell anyone at Shorty’s. So there was one bartender, one cook and Gus. Nicole had stopped, overwhelmed, as soon as she opened the door. But Waverly walked right in and ducked behind the counter. She waved Nicole over, pointing behind the bar, and Nicole hesitantly walked over.

           “Head to the kitchen. He probably needs help reading and plating the orders.” Before Nicole had a chance to respond, Waverly was already taking people’s orders. Nicole peeked her head in the kitchen. The cook was frantically trying to keep up, but the list of tickets was beyond long.

           “Heard you need help.”

           He looked confused for a moment, but seemed to decide that he didn’t care who she was if she was offering to help.

           “Start serving up fries and mozzarella sticks. They’re in the fryer over there. Once you fill a basket, tuck the slip under the edge of the paper, slide it on the shelf and smack the bell.”

           He turned back towards the grill without giving her any more direction. She took a deep breath and started pulling fry orders off the strip.

 

* * *

 

 

           It took two hours for Shorty’s to settle down. The bar was still fairly full, but the rowdiest of the group had long since gone home. Waverly finally got the chance to duck out from behind the bar and start picking up all the discarded dishes around the room. They were back to only needing one bartender, so she might actually be able to go home soon. She carried the big tray full of dishes into the kitchen, only to find Nicole in an apron, loading and unloading the industrial dishwasher. Their cook was scraping down the grill and looking far more serious than she was used to seeing him. It took her a second to realize that they were deep in conversation.

             “All I’m saying is that you’ve got to work hard to keep seeing her as the person you fell in love with, not just your wife. Otherwise, you start forgetting why you wanted to marry them in the first place and start fighting or become little more than roommates.”

             “How do you do that?”

             “Well, the Missus and I were having a hard time, and Curtis gave us some really great advice. Seemed dumb at the time, but dumb was better than angry, so we tried it.” He paused while he rinsed a rag in the sink. Waverly fought very hard to keep still and out of sight. “Curtis made us promise to have one date night a week for two months. Said if that didn’t help, he’d give me a bottle of Scotch on him. But we had to buy in; really try: one night a week where we went out without the kids, or spent time together some way. Even took dancing lessons at the church one time. After a while, you run out of things to talk about. At least, out of things other than the kids and house and such. Eventually you start remembering or dreaming, and you do it together. It really helped. And it’s also when we started having those real serious conversations. Do we have another kid? Do we need a bigger house? Can we afford that vacation? You’re forced to communicate when you don’t have outside stuff stealing your attention.”

           Waverly could just barely see Nicole around the shelf she was hiding behind. She had stopped washing the dishes and was listening attentively. Waverly felt her heart well up with pride. Nicole didn’t have to try, didn’t have to care, but here she was, soaking in as much as she could. When the conversation came to a natural lull, she gently kicked the door behind her and walked from behind the shelf as if she was just coming in the kitchen. She carried the tray over to the sink by Nicole. She leaned up and kissed Nicole’s cheek as she walked by.

             “Didn’t know you were still back here!”

             Nicole was blushing adorably as she quickly grabbed the glasses off the tray and started loading them into the racks.

             “Well, it got pretty crazy and then the mess matched, so I stuck around to try and help tame the chaos back here.

             “You two should go home. I can clean up the rest of this. I’ve still got an hour left in my shift. And you two should be out celebrating anyways!”

             “It’s no trouble. If I’m going to marry into the family, I need to get used to nights like this.” Nicole said it with an easiness that told Waverly she truly didn’t mind. But Waverly knew Nicole’d stay until morning, finding more and more to do, if she didn’t pull her away now.

             “Thank you. We were on our way to grab a bottle of sparkling wine to celebrate before all this.” She turned to Nicole. “You know, I never showed Gus the ring!”

             “Go! Show off the ring, drink and enjoy that giddy feeling. You’re going to be overwhelmed with well-wishes tomorrow, you should get at least one night just for yourselves.”

             Nicole wiped her hands on a towel and hung up the borrowed apron. She shook his hand, “Thanks for the advice.”

             “Any time.”

             They waved goodbye as they ducked out of the kitchen. Waverly pulled Nicole towards Gus’ office, where the light was still on. She peaked in, waiting for Gus to acknowledge them.

             “Sounds like congratulations are in order. Close the door.”

             Waverly and Nicole stepped in the office, pulling the door shut behind them.

             “So you guys are really going to do this?” The girls looked at each other, then nodded, so she continued. “You guys talked about what this means?”

             Nicole spoke up. “We talked about the basics. Outlined our story so we can answer people’s questions. I know we’re going to have to get married pretty quickly, which will probably raise some suspicions, but we’ll handle that when the time comes.”

             “And your family? They can drop everything on such short notice.”

             Nicole glanced at Waverly, before turning back to Gus. “Don’t have anyone outside of Purgatory that’ll come. Maybe a couple of military friends will come if I ask. Once we have a date, I’ll reach out. But I don’t really have anyone.”

             Gus just nodded like she expected that to be the answer. Nicole couldn’t bring herself to look at Waverly, so she just stared straight ahead. She felt Waverly’s hand grab hers and she found herself letting out a breath she didn’t know she’d been holding.

             “What about your place? It’s gonna be hard to move out to the Homestead.”

             “I’ve just been renting while I tried to get settled. I’ll give them notice and take the time left in the lease to slowly move my stuff over. Most everything should fit, they don’t have a whole lot of furniture out there and Wynonna’s talking about converting the barn eventually, so…” She looked over at Waverly who was feigning offense at Nicole’s critique of the Homestead, but they both knew it was true. Gus looked at them for a long moment, but it wasn’t frightening like she could sometimes be; she seemed to be studying them, trying to figure something out. She stood up and came around the desk.

            “We can start on the details tomorrow.” She clapped Nicole on the shoulder and gave Waverly a quick side hug with a kiss on the temple. “Wave, grab a bottle of champagne on your way out. Might as well enjoy this, right?” She practically pushed them out the door. Waverly ducked behind the bar to grab her purse and their jackets. She opened the wine fridge and grabbed one of the bottles, before catching up with Nicole near the door. Nicole smiled and offered Waverly her arm, and they ducked out the door together.

 

* * *

 

           The two of them ended up drinking the entire bottle together when they got back to Nicole’s. It only amounted to a couple of glasses apiece, but with the excitement at Shorty’s and the exhaustion of working a crazy shift, the wine seemed to hit them a bit harder than either expected. They spent the time making a contract of sorts, outlining their marriage expectations. Waverly insisted they split the chores ahead of time so there wouldn’t be any bickering and Nicole found it silly enough to sound like fun. Nicole fell asleep sitting on the floor, twisted so her head was lying on her arms on the couch. Waverly was curled up at the other end of the couch, clutching one of the throw pillows.

           The sun roused them at about the same time and they laughed at where they had ended up. Waverly had insisted that they couldn’t sign their contract until they were both ‘in right mind’ so they found themselves reading over it again. After a few minor changes (mostly to correct Tipsy Waverly’s spelling), the contract was signed and stashed in Nicole’s gun safe.

 

* * *

           The girls regretted their decision to go out to breakfast before Nicole had to head to the station. The second they entered the dinner they were swarmed by well-wishers. There was a lot of shaking hands and ring admiring before they got anywhere near their table. When they finally made it to the table, there was a small crowd waiting to hear the proposal story. Nicole and Waverly relayed it the way they’d discussed the night before and skillfully dodged any questions about the wedding.

           “It’s only been a day! I haven’t even had time to get used to the ring on my hand, let alone start planning!” It was said with a smile and a laugh, but the group was wise enough to know that that avenue of conversation was being shut down. The group finally left with another round of ring admiration and handshakes, and the two were finally able to settle down to breakfast.

           After all the time spent relaying the story, breakfast was a bit of a rushed affair. Nicole ended up finishing before Waverly and having to rush off to try and make it on time for her shift. She apologized, threw down money to cover the ticket and without even thinking about it, kissed Waverly’s cheek on the way out the door.

           The women in the dinner swooned at the gesture, and Waverly found herself grinning far more than she probably should be. She pressed her fingertips to the place where Nicole’s lips had touched and could feel the blush beginning to take over her face.

 

* * *

             Nicole’s walk through town with the Sheriff was very different that day. Someone offering congratulations and unsolicited advice stopped them every ten feet or so. Waverly was right when she said the whole town would know over night. Nedley had said congrats with all the other officers when she’d shown up at the station, but he hadn’t said much else since. When they finished their walk around town and climbed back into Nedley’s patrol car, Nicole slipped down into the seat with a sigh.

             “It can be a bit much, can’t it?”

             Nicole looked over at Nedley and nodded.

             “It’ll calm down as soon as someone else gets engaged or pregnant.”

             “Is it bad that I just want to get to the married part?” Nedley raised an eyebrow in question, so Nicole continued. “They’re already asking questions about the wedding, questions I don’t have answers for, and I can’t imagine months of this.” Nedley actually chuckled.

             “Just wait until they start talking colors and flowers.” Nicole groaned.

             “I just want to get past it. I want to be at the lazy Saturday mornings, and the evenings curled up together part. I want to cook together and just… settle down, I guess. That’s not very romantic, is it?”

             “I’m just an old man, but I think that’s far more romantic than a wedding could be.” This time it was Nicole’s turn to silently ask a question. “All of that is what love really means. I think some people just get married for the dresses and flowers, or because they think they oughta. But you should get married for what comes after.”

             Nicole studied him for a moment. “You’re a wise man Sheriff.”

             Nedley just grunted. “If you don’t want the fuss of the wedding, then don’t fuss. Keep it small and simple and get it done quick. Better to ask everyone’s forgiveness with a big party after the fact.”

             Nicole smiled and nodded. Nedley turned towards her and stared her dead in the eye.

             “I’m sure you know that I view Waverly as a niece. Gus and Wynonna will probably talk to you, but without Ward or Curtis… I won’t threaten you, because I know you’ll be good to her. I just want you to be sure before she walks down that isle. Her heart’s been broken too many times already and I don’t want anyone adding anymore. If you’re going to change your mind, do it fast while her pride is intact… her heart will heal a lot faster from a broken engagement than a broken marriage.”

            Nicole felt a knot in her throat and she fought to get words out. “I’m sure, sir. I did it wrong once before and that only taught me what I wanted, what I needed. Waverly is it for me. I had cold feet last time and I should’ve listened. But every time I look at Waverly…I’m sure, sir.”

           Nicole hadn’t meant to answer that honestly, but it felt good to get it off her chest. Nedley seemed satisfied with her answer. He put the car in drive, and that was that.

 

* * *

           Around town, Waverly had to be the excited newly engaged woman. But at the Homestead, she was back to being just Waverly. She sat down on the couch and sighed. She didn’t know anyone was home until Wynonna came walking out of the kitchen with two glasses and a bottle. Waverly took the glass and looked at it.

           “Do we drink too much?”

           “What kind of question is that?”

           “I’m serious, Wynonna. Daddy was an alcoholic and here we are drinking all the time.”

           “Daddy was a mean drunk and completely unable to go more than a day without a drink. We regularly go two or three without.”

           “We just drink a lot when we do.”

           “That’s just because hearty Earp blood says we can.”

           Waverly took a sip before sliding back against the couch.

           “Long day?”

           “I swear, I’ll scream if anyone else asks me about dates or dresses or how she proposed.”

           “This makes the wedding magazines I have _real_ awkward.”

           Waverly looked over at her sister. “You bought wedding magazines.”

           Wynonna looked like she was going to say yes, before she said, “No. That nosy geezer at the store shoved them in my hand and made me promise to give them to you. I think she’s expecting an invite.”

           Waverly threw her head back and groaned. “This is going to be huge, isn’t it?”

           “Only if you let it.” Waverly rolled her head towards her sister and waited for her to elaborate. “Have a small ceremony, then throw a huge party.”

           “What?”

           “Well, as Old Mr. Grabby Hands in the produce section said, ‘the fairgrounds rents out for cheap’. So we get a few kegs, convince some of the deputies to grill burgers and dogs and invite everyone to celebrate.”

           “You really think that’ll work?”

           “Why not? All people want if free booze and a chance to dress up. Give ‘em both, without the crazy wedding part.”

           Waverly lit up for a second, before deflating a bit. “I don’t know if Nicole will go for that.”

           Wynonna just laughed. “I saw Haught with Nedley earlier. She looked completely over the questions. Someone asked her what flowers they were having and she said, ‘uh, pretty ones?’ “ Wynonna laughed. “I really don’t think she’s the kind of girl that really cares.”

           Waverly sat up and turned to her sister. “I would really love a simple wedding on Gus’ land. It’s beautiful there. And private.” She reached for her ever-present notebook and started jotting ideas. “It would help explain the expedited timeline too.”

           “Yeah. Eloping to keep the wedding small is better than in a rush to invalidate a bull shit contract.”

           “That’s still a lot to do in a week.”

           “The party can wait though. Come back from the ‘honeymoon’ and then celebrate.”

Waverly’s eyes went wide and Wynonna laughed.

           “Hadn’t thought of that, huh?”

Waverly just shook her head. She definitely hadn’t thought of that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've never worked in food services so odds are that some of the Shorty's scenes are inaccurate in some way or another. Also, the advice from the cook is adapted from the advice my dad gave me a while back. When my sister was about to get married, my dad, brother-in-law and I snuck out of one of the planning sessions happening at my parents, and went to watch the game at a bar. My dad gave us similar advice; said it was the kind of stuff he'd wished his dad had told him at some point. My parents have been together since they were 17, so I'm thinking it's probably pretty good advice.
> 
> I promise Willa is coming eventually, I just really enjoyed where this chapter ended.


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The wedding countdown begins!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry that I'm terrible at replying to comments! I do appreciate them, I swear! I'm just terrible at replying without almost spoiling something that hasn't happened yet. 
> 
> Hopefully I'll be able to get another chapter out tomorrow. My outline says I should be on Chapter 7 and that the wedding and all the planning should just take a chapter, but I've been having too much fun with it all!! And what fun is writing without sharing it, right?
> 
> As always, let me know if you see something weird in the chapter - this is all unbeta'd and probably full of mistakes...

               The rest of the day was a blur for Nicole. She didn’t manage to get anything done the whole shift; people kept coming around to talk to her. Waverly was right when she said that their marriage would help Nicole’s relationship with the town people, but it was exhausting. Be careful what you wish for, huh? Waverly had sent her a text about an hour before the end of her shift asking her over for dinner. She wasn’t sure she could handle any more wedding talk, but she knew they were on a deadline, so she’d suck it up.

               Normally, Nicole left the station in her uniform, just waited until she got home to change. But she had a pair of jeans and a sweater stashed in her locker, so she changed quickly on her way out. Apparently her routine was pretty obvious, because she didn’t even make it out of the station before someone was commenting.

               “Wow. You must have a date with Waverly tonight or something.” Nicole gave him a questioning look, so he continued. “You always leave in your uniform, so if you bothered to change on your way out, it must be something special.”

               “We’re going to start planning the wedding. There’s a lot to do and we don’t really want a long engagement, you know?”

               He laughed. “I wished we’d had the same idea! It was 9 long months of planning and we both wanted to elope by the end.”

               “God that sounds nice!” Nicole said with a laugh.

               “Good luck!” 

* * *

 

               When Nicole arrived at the Homestead, Waverly looked nervous. She quickly took Nicole’s coat and ushered her into the kitchen. Waverly had made a pasta casserole that smelled divine, so Nicole let her push her towards the table. Waverly hadn’t said a single word since Nicole arrived, and Nicole was feeling more and more anxious by the moment. When Waverly finally had everything served up and was sitting across from her at the table, she finally spoke. Nicole listened patiently as she rambled.

               “So I have something to ask you, but you might hate it, I don’t know! Some girls dream about their weddings and I don’t want to assume that you didn’t just cause you… seem a little less interested in that kind of stuff, you know? But Wynonna had an idea, and I don’t know, it just seemed like a good one? Which is rare, I know, Wynonna having a good idea that doesn’t sound like it’d end in disaster. But it’s bound to happen occasionally right?”

               At this point, Nicole took pity on her and interrupted her. “Waves. What’s the idea?”

               “Oh. Right! Um… what do you think about a small wedding out at Gus’? It’s beautiful and private and would explain why we’re in such a hurry.” Waverly had managed to say the whole thing in one breath and Nicole smiled.

              “I’m definitely down with that idea.”

               “Really?”

               “Yeah. Actually Nedley suggested we think about eloping and then apologizing later by throwing some sort of party.”

               “What?”

               “Yeah.” Nicole said laughing. “I think he could tell how overwhelmed I was by all the questions and all the people and suggested that we elope and ask forgiveness later.”

               “Then it’s settled? We get married at Gus’ with the bare minimum.”

               “Yeah. I want to invite Nedley and maybe some of the deputies, but with their families, I don’t know…”

               “Why don’t we host a dinner party with all them and their families after? An apology of sorts. But Nedley was on my list too.” Waverly hesitated. “I want to show you something. But warning: Wynonna and I went a little crazy.” She stood up and Nicole followed her into the living room. Waverly had found an old cork board on wheels that took up a large part of the room. Waverly turned it toward Nicole and she saw that they had tacked up images out of a magazine all over the board.

               “Wow!”

               “I know it’s a bit much…”

               “I’m impressed.”

               Waverly lit up as she started listing off all the things they’d found. “Most of the decorations can be made out of stuff Gus already has. Chrissy agreed to help make them all, but I’ll have to update her on the timeline now. And the flowers will have to be picked up from the city, but that should be pretty easy. We can grab the food and stuff too. Should probably pick out my dress. I didn’t know what you’d want to wear, so I left that part blank.” She looked up at Nicole and Nicole realized she was expected to speak.

               “Um… what do you want me to wear?”

              “Whatever makes you comfortable. I know it’s just for show, but we might as well do it right, you know?”

               Nicole just nodded and let Waverly go back to talking. Within an hour, they’d sorted out the majority of the details. They’d planned the wedding for that Sunday, 5 days away, because it was one of Nicole and Nedley’s overlapping days off. They were going to the city tomorrow with Wynonna, Gus and Chrissy to pick out their wedding clothes, rings and whatever supplies they couldn’t get locally. Nicole was exhausted and she knew tomorrow was going to be a really long day too. The said goodbye without much fanfare and Nicole headed home with a lot on her mind.

               She knew she needed to reach out to the friends she was still in touch with and invite them, so she did as soon as she got home, just to get it over with. She wasn’t sure any of them would even consider coming, but it would be nice to have someone on her side of the isle. When she finally got to bed, she collapsed and was out in seconds.

 

* * *

 

               Nicole woke to a surprising email. Her CO had agreed to come all the way out for her wedding. He had a flight booked for Friday and was set to stay until Monday. He just needed a place to stay. She instantly agreed to let him stay with her and tried not to sound too surprised that he’d accepted. A few emails back and forth and everything was settled. The rest of the invites had been politely declined (as she’d expected), but she found herself not caring.

              She went about her normal morning routine and went to meet everyone at the Earp’s. She was surprised to find Doc among the group. When she said as much, he quietly replied:

               “Thought you might need someone to help you. They will all be preoccupied with Waverly, after all.”

               Nicole didn’t respond, just nodded as they walked towards the big SUV Chrissy had brought to get them all to the city. The drive only took an hour, but the way they all rambled on about the wedding, it felt a lot longer. Doc looked more amused than bored or annoyed; the man always surprised her.

               The whole gang went to the bakery together, Chrissy had set up a cake tasting and no one wanted to miss it. It would cost extra to have the cake made so quickly, but they had already settled on a simple design the day before and the cake didn’t need to be particularly large. There was great debate over the filling (chocolate or raspberry) but it was settled by a pretty intense game of “rock, paper, scissors”.

               Chrissy, Doc and Gus agreed to buy the decorations while Waverly, Nicole and Wynonna picked out rings. (Wynonna had grumbled one time too many about ribbons and flowers and Gus threatened to leave her in the city, so Nicole had suggested that she came with them).

When they got to the jeweler’s, Nicole and Waverly had immediately walked towards the wedding bands, but Wynonna seemed to be having fun commenting on all the crazy jewelry laid out. She seemed particularly tickled by all the charms they had for charm bracelets, though she swore she’d never be caught dead wearing one.

 

               Nicole had never realized how many options there were just for wedding bands. When she’d married Shae, they’d just used whatever rings they had at the chapel. She wasn’t sure hers had even been gold. Waverly’s selection was more limited, because it needed to coordinate with the engagement ring. She tried on a dozen or so before she found a simple, thin gold band that slid perfectly along her finger. It sat flush to her engagement ring and they seemed made to go together. It was settled in an instant and placed in the first of the ring slots in the velvet box set on the counter.

               When it was Nicole’s turn to pick a ring, she didn’t even know where to start. The jeweler showed her the different metal choices they had: gold, white gold, rose gold, steel and tungsten. She fell in love with the dark black, smooth metal of the tungsten and the rest were quickly whisked away. She dared a quick glance at Waverly to see if she objected to her choice, but Waves was already looking at the flat of rings he’d placed in front of them.

               Waverly picked three for Nicole to try, to judge the width that Nicole wanted. The thin, delicate band that matched Waverly’s looked too little for her hand. Waverly shook her head and quickly picked up the next ring. It was slightly thicker, with a thin band down the middle with a rougher finish. Nicole wasn’t sure about it, until she put it on. She could feel Waverly bouncing beside her, so she was pretty sure she knew what Waves thought, but Waverly asked for Nicole’s opinion anyways. Nicole turned her hand this way and that and nodded. The ring was swiftly pulled off her finger and placed in the box.

               The jeweler quickly wrote up the rings and after a little debate, Waverly finally agreed to let Nicole buy the rings. The couple left the shop with the ring box stowed in Nicole’s jacket pocket. They met the rest of the group for lunch, to regroup and plan out the rest of the day. They still needed to pick out their wedding clothes. Chrissy needed to be back in the city Friday, so she had agreed to pick up the cake and their clothes if they remembered to put her name on the pick up. They split up, with Nicole and Doc heading in the opposite direction.

 

* * *

 

               Nicole’s first instinct was to find a suit. She knew Waverly was going to find something stunning in white, so logically, she should find a suit. She wasn’t surprised with the response when they walked into the Men’s Warehouse (there wasn’t a lot of stores to choose from). Two different salesmen offered to help Doc find a suit, before they’d made it halfway in the store. The third asked Nicole what kind of suit she wanted to see her boyfriend in and Nicole almost walked out in frustration. Doc gracefully shook them all off and followed Nicole towards the finery in the back. They walked along in silence, looking at the different suits, until Nicole suddenly stopped. She ran her fingers over the smooth black material, and a slight smile graced her face when she felt how soft the material was.

               “Which one of you is getting married?”

               Nicole quickly looked over at where the voice had come from. The woman reminded her of her Nana; tiny, hunched, and fierce. She had an amused look on her face when both Nicole and Doc stared at her. Nicole tried not to stutter as she squeaked out a “um, me?”

               “Is that a fact or a question?”

              Nicole snapped out of her shock and replied, “a fact. I’m just surprised you even asked about the suit.”

               The old woman looked her up and down. “You certainly aren’t marrying that man and he just checked out the woman in the ties so I hope he isn’t the one getting married.”

               Nicole laughed and she could see Henry fighting a smile behind his moustache. The old lady had sat down on a stool in front of the counter and flopped a large book of samples out in front of them. She flipped to the page that matched the suit. “When’s the wedding?”

               “Sunday.”

               The woman tore her eyes from the page. “ _This_ Sunday?” When Nicole nodded, she quickly stood up. “Oy vey!” She glanced at Nicole, scrunching her eyes, before quickly pulling three different suits from the rack and shoving Nicole towards the curtained area. Nicole quickly stripped behind the curtain and pulled on the first pair of pants, which flooded far above her socks. She stepped out from behind the curtain. “Um…maybe too short?”

               The old woman quickly stood and started pinching at her pants. She seemed satisfied with the fit around the hips and the way they fell across her thighs, but tutted at the length. The next two pairs went in similar ways. The first was long enough, but too loose in the butt. The second was way too light in the butt, but fit well in the legs. Nicole was feeling discouraged, but the lady was actually smiling. She practically threw a white button up at her as she pushed Nicole back in the dressing room. Before she’d had a chance to finish all the buttons, a pair of pants snaked around the curtain and shook until she grabbed them. This time, the pants fit perfectly. Nicole knew it as she slid them on and it earned her a nod from the old lady before she rushed over to start pinching at the shirt. The whole process repeated with two more shirts and four jackets, before she finally had the right fit. Nicole was terrified of getting hooked on all the pins as she changed, but she was definitely glad to be done. The woman passed her off to a young man, who seemed unsure about the whole situation. He wrote up a ticket, helped her pick out a tie and a belt and rang it all up.

               Nicole hadn’t realized that Doc wasn’t right there with her until he slid up to the counter with a ticket in his hand. She raised her eyebrows in question and he smiled gently, before nudging her with his shoulder. “Waverly asked if I would walk her down the isle. And she knows that I can not say no when she asks.” Nicole smiled at that and stood off to the side as he paid his bill. They made arrangements for Chrissy to pick them Friday and headed off to meet the other half of their group.

 

* * *

 

               Waverly was having a hard time deciding what she should have Wynonna and Chrissy wear. She knew that Nicole probably wouldn’t have any of her own, and she couldn’t help but feel bad about wanting them in the wedding. Nicole had reassured her over and over that it would be fine, but the guilt just piled on the already large pile of guilt she was carrying. Gus had found a dress with in minutes of walking in the door. They had decided on a bright blue theme that would look good on everyone (and that would be easier to find) and Gus’ baby blue dress would coordinate nicely. Wynonna and Chrissy each had dresses vetoed before they earned Waverly’s approval. She vaguely heard Wynonna saying something like “thank God she’s not a bridezilla” before she was whisked into the poufy white dress section of the store. She hadn’t been procrastinating the dress search, _exactly_ , she was just a little more nervous than she expected to be.

               Chrissy and Talia (the “wedding dress consultant”) were pulling various dresses out of the racks and placing them on a movable rack in the middle of the crowded room. There were dresses lining three of the walls, crammed in as tight as they could be. The fourth wall had to curtain-covered doorframes and a giant three-paneled mirror. Chrissy already knew exactly what Waverly liked; they had spent hours talking about it that morning. So when she pushed Waverly into the dressing room with the first dress, Waverly just blindly went along. Turns out that the mermaid dress did not work on her tiny frame; at least, not if she wanted her wedding to be classy. The ballroom dress came next and was beautiful. She felt a bit like a princess as she twirled in front of the mirror. But she didn’t get choked up and no one cried, so Talia insisted they try another. And another. And another…. Waverly was standing on the riser, in front of the mirror, about ready to give up. Wynonna was sprawled out across on of the couches, awake, but barely. Chrissy and Gus were trying to be supportive, but were just as tired as Waverly was. And Talia just looked puzzled. When Wynonna stood up, Waverly assumed she was heading out to find some whiskey.

               “Try this one, kid.” And she was back crashed on the couch before Waverly was sure she’d even said anything. The dress Wynonna had handed her was nothing like they’d planned. The dress was long and loose at the bottom, but not full. The waist was fitted and it had a v-neckline. Sheer lace covered the bodice and the short, flowy sleeves. It was very bohemian and very Waverly. There were no questions when she stepped in front of the mirror; she’d found her dress.

 

               The rest of their time at the store was a blur. There’d been tears, but she wasn’t sure who’d been crying (maybe it was Talia). There were pins flying, shoes being shoved on her feet and someone was playing with her hair. She was fairly sure Wynonna had snuck off at this point, but she couldn’t tell. She was surprised and thankful when someone shoved her towards the dressing room and told her to take it off. She was less thankful when that someone followed her in to help her. She hadn’t been able to wear a bra and now she was flashing some poor woman…who didn’t seem even remotely phased. The woman left her and Waverly finally felt like she could breathe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The old woman in the suit store is loosely based on my Tante Helga, who is actually my Opa's cousin, I think? There are so many cousins, I'm not sure how we're all related anymore. Point is, she's absolutely tiny and always wears perfect makeup and heels that would make me fall (and she's still shorter than me when I'm barefooted). She switches to German when she's excited and occasionally Yiddish. Everyone needs a Helga.


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dolls has a couple of surprises.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Someone called one of my "twists" in the comment section of the last chapter and I had a really hard time not saying anything. Another short, but important chapter. You may have noticed that the chapter number has been extended. Apparently, brevity is not a strength of mine and we still have quite a bit of story to go. Hopefully you guys hang in with me - it's only going to get better.

               The next few days were a blur of wedding preparations. Nicole found herself running errands at all times of day or night, and felt a bit like a tornado. She hardly saw Waverly unless she was dropping something off or picking something up. Wynonna was actually helping with the work, but that didn’t mean Nicole saw her any more of her than she saw Waverly.

 

               Nicole had asked Nedley, after swearing him to secrecy, to stand with her at the wedding. For a brief minute, she thought he’d say no, but he just asked why.

               “You’re the closest I’ve got to family around here” was all she’d said. And that had been the end of the conversation.

 

* * *

 

               Morgan was set to come into town tonight and Nicole was nervous. She hadn’t seen or really talked to anyone from back home since she moved to Purgatory. Although, maybe home wasn’t the right word. Purgatory felt more like home than anywhere else ever had. But she’d worked hard to get past what had happened before she left and that meant that she kept the two parts of her life very separate. She was more than a little nervous for the two to come crashing together.

               She’d borrowed an air mattress from Chrissy and had already set it up where her dinning room table had been. She had 6 hours until she left for the airport and no idea how she’d fill it. She found herself wishing for some crazy job from Waverly, just to pass the time. As she poured herself some more coffee, she looked around the kitchen. There weren’t even any dishes to be washed and she already had a casserole prepped in the fridge for tonight.

               Dishes. Nicole knew what she was going to spend the day doing.

* * *

 

               Half an hour and $30 later, Nicole was back from the hardware store. At first, she was worried that the people would get the wrong idea about what she bought, but then she realized: everyone was expecting them to move in together after they were married - that was the right idea for them to have. Nicole probably could have just thrown all her possessions into the back of the truck and then come back for her furniture, but she wasn’t sure what the Earps were expecting to do with her stuff. She didn’t want to assume that they’d want any of her dishes or furniture, so she might need to store some of her stuff. It only took about an hour to have her kitchen packed. She’d kept out two place-settings for them to use this weekend and packed the rest away.

               She still had boxes, so she found herself packing up her books. Then the summer clothes she hadn’t really had a need to unpack anyways. Then all the random tools and bits in her garage were packed up for transport as well (though most things wouldn’t fit in any of the boxes she’d bought).

               All told, it only took about four hours to pack up nearly all of her possessions. She’d left a few personal touches around the place and all the clothes she’d need for the next week or so, but packed everything else. She decided that bringing a few boxes out to the homestead would look good for their image and give her a reason to go visit Waverly.

* * *

 

               Waverly didn’t like being unprepared. She wasn’t normally a procrastinator and this wedding was reminding her why. Every time she thought they were almost ready, someone thought of something else that needed to be done. And right now, Dolls was walking towards the door, which probably meant extra revenant trouble on top of everything else. Waverly sighed and stood to meet him at the door.

               “Waverly.” He said, with a slight nod. He was holding a file folder in his hand and Waverly sighed at the thought of the impending research that was about to be piled on top of the wedding planning. She led him into the kitchen and they both sat down.

               “We have a couple of loose ends to tie up.”

               “Which revenant is causing trouble this time?”

               Dolls cracked half of a smile. “No one new.” He flipped open the file. “A few things to make this legal, official and not suspicious. First off, all I need is signatures on this marriage license." He looked up at her. "Both of yours. Luckily, I’m a notary, so this should go quickly.”

               Waverly cocked her eyebrow and Dolls continued. “Long story, but it comes in handy.” Dolls watched as she sighed, then signed below and closed the file. “If I get this to the judge today, it should be official by Wednesday, giving us a few days to spare.” Waverly nodded, thankful that someone had remembered to make it legal. It all the planning and running around, Dolls was the only one that remembered to do the paperwork to make it legal.

               Waverly expected him to leave, but he just pulled an envelope from his jacket pocket. He went to hand it to her when they heard tires on gravel. Both immediately stood, Waverly grabbing the shot gun from behind the door and Dolls pulling his gun from where it sat on his hip. The both peered out the window in time to see Nicole step out of her truck. Dolls holstered her weapon, but Waverly just threw hers over her shoulder as she stepped out on the porch.

               “Wasn’t expecting you!”

               Nicole chuckled. “Obviously.” Waverly followed Nicole’s eyes and suddenly remembered she was still carrying the shotgun. She nodded her head towards the door and walked inside, knowing Nicole would follow. Dolls was back at the table with the file open and the pen ready. He didn’t speak, but handed Nicole the pen, holding onto it a little longer than necessary; Waverly was pretty sure they had a whole conversation without saying a word. Nicole signed the form and handed the pen back. Wynonna was set to sign the third line before Dolls filed the paperwork.

 

               As he was leaving, he handed Nicole the envelope he’d pulled out before. They said goodbye from the hall as he left out the front door, before opening the envelope. It contained a few folded print outs with bright pictures. Nicole studied the pages, her face growing more and more confused by the second.

               “What is it?” Waverly’s words snapped Nicole out of her thoughts.

               “Uh… looks like a hotel reservation, three different restaurant reservations, and a gondola? Maybe?”

               “What?” Waverly snagged the pages and started flipping through them. The blush on her cheeks grew darker by the minute and she suddenly walked out of the room. Nicole could hear her banging around in the kitchen but didn’t immediately follow her. She was missing something. Why would Dolls be telling them about his vacation? A sticky note would have worked just as well. She walked in the kitchen to find Waverly with a bottle of whiskey and a glass the obviously held some of the liquid moments ago.

               “I’m lost.” Nicole said quietly. Waverly let out a single, loud laugh before downing another shot. She laughed again, before offering the bottle to Nicole. She shook her head and Waverly set it back down.

               “It’s our Honeymoon.” She said before looking up at Nicole. Nicole’s confused face made her laugh again. “Wynonna told me that we had to have a honeymoon – no one would believe us if we didn’t have a honeymoon. I told her we’d just hole up at the Homestead for a few days, Nonna could sleep at yours or above the bar, but apparently she and Dolls didn’t think that was good enough.”

               Nicole looked at the papers again. The first had their hotel reservation – 4 days, 3 nights. The next three were reservations at fancy restaurants with a note that the bill had already been paid. Nicole scrunched her brow in confusion as she read on. The next page was confirmation for a romantic gondola ride up to the top of a hill, with brunch scheduled at the top. Followed by a reservation for a couple’s massage and other spa related activities.

               “I don’t understand.”

               “Apparently, we’re going on a honeymoon.”

               Nicole thought she ought to be outraged or annoyed at least, but she really wasn’t. A note on one of the pages said that the time off had been approved by Nedley and the cost covered by various friends and coworkers. If anything, Nicole felt guilty, but only just.

               “Cool.”

               “What?” Waverly looked outraged, but Nicole was patient and gentle as she spoke.

               “So far, every part of this has sucked for you. But now… now we get a free vacation and a break from all the wedding questions. I think Wynonna and Dolls were trying to make this whole thing suck a little less for you.”

               Waverly’s face softened. “For both of us.” Nicole just nodded. Waverly looked through the pages, her smile slowly growing. “This actually sounds really fun! It’s the furthest I’ve ever been out of Purgatory.”

               “Really?” Waverly laughed at her surprise.

               “I’ve always wanted to travel, but I’ve never had a reason. Or the means, really.”

               “Well, we’ll have to change that.” Waverly looked at her questioningly. “You’re one of the smartest people I know and you speak multiple, crazy languages and you probably know more about the historical sites in Europe than the tour guides! You should be able to see them some day.” Waverly wasn’t sure what to do with the tender moment they were sharing, but she held eye contact, until she felt Nicole grab her hand. She looked down at their hands, before a squeeze brought her eyes back to Nicole’s. “We’ll go see them some day.” They stayed like that for a moment before slowly breaking away from each other. This was one of those moments where Nicole struggled to remember it wasn’t real.

               The two girls talked excitedly for a few moments about the trip, debating which vehicle to take and what they should pack, but it didn’t take long to have their plans squared away. Waverly suddenly remembered that none of them had asked Nicole to come; Dolls seemed just as surprised to see her as Waverly had.

               “I forgot to ask why you were here! With the signing and the papers and the – “ she waved her hands around “whiskey – I forgot to ask you what brought us to our humble abode.” She finished with a silly half curtsy that had Nicole smiling.

               “I, um, I was packing up some of my stuff and thought I might bring a load over.” She suddenly felt a bit panicked at the forwardness of that statement and rushed to explain. “I mean, it’s part of the deal that I move in here and it only seemed authentic to do it now…”

              “Of course! I’ll show you where you can put it." She started walking towards the door, toward the truck, and Nicole followed behind. "We shouldn’t have a problem fitting everything, but we probably won’t have time to unpack any of it until after we get back.”

               “Yeah, that’s fine. I kept out the stuff I’d need, it’s mostly dishes and books.” Nicole laughed at the excitement on Waverly’s face at the idea of having more of both of those in the house. When they each had a box from her truck, Waverly lead them to a room in the back of the house. It was dark and nearly empty, but what was there was covered in dust.

               “Sorry about the mess, I thought I still had a while to clean it out.”

               “No worries. I’m not afraid of a little dust.”

               Waverly hesitated just inside the door and her voice was small when she finally spoke. “It was Daddy’s room.”

               “Oh my God. I don’t have to – I mean, I can just sleep on the couch.”

               Waverly had set down the box and turned towards Nicole. She gently placed a hand on Nicole’s arm to still her. “Nonna and I both think it’ll be good to change this room up. Isn’t right to have a shrine to a man we don’t respect and who certainly didn’t respect me. We can’t seem to get past the memories enough to spend any time in the room." She paused as she looked around, with something close, but not quite nostalgia. "But you don’t have those memories, so it’s just a room to you. This way, you can help us finally let go.”

               Nicole wasn’t sure what to say, so she just pulled Waverly into a hug. They stood there for a moment before Waverly pulled away and headed back to the truck. It didn’t take them long to finish unloading the truck and before Nicole was really ready, it was time for her to head to the airport.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dun, dun, dundun! Dun, dun, dundun! The wedding day is almost here.


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The wedding day has arrived!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apparently, my family has quite a few British traditions still left from before they immigrated. Didn’t know that until seeing my friends’ comments about the royal wedding. So forgive any weirdness. Apparently the “first look” tradition of the groom looking away until the bride is close is not typical. But it’s normal in my family. Didn’t figure either were Jewish or super religious, so I cut any of those traditions. 
> 
> I’m currently traveling, so I have no idea what day it is, or when I last posted. Definitely over-estimated the amount of time I’d have to write in June, but I’ll catch up eventually. (My last grad term paper was due Friday, so I finally had time to proof read and finish the part I just couldn’t seem to write.) 
> 
> Describing a wedding is really hard and I kept getting blocked. I finished the chapter following this and 6 mini-fics before my writers block lifted, go figure. (I’ve been sitting on this for a while guys, I’m sorry). It didn't help that this chapter kept getting longer and longer. Probably should have split it into two at some point but there wasn't really a good spot. I’ll try to get the next few chapters posted quickly (I’m about to have a lot of time on the plane or in airports). 
> 
> Next time, I’m only doing one fic at a time. Then I won’t feel bad about falling behind. (I hate when I can’t stick to a schedule).
> 
> Warning, there are sections that get a little sexual (not smut, which is where I’m sure some of your brains went). If you’re uncomfortable with sex jokes and mentions of genatalia, skip the section where Waverly and Wynonna go to dinner. It’s safe again after that for a while, until the scene after Nicole is at the dinner (“So tell me about this wedding…”). It’s really not bad, but when I sent a screenshot of the scenes to my friend, she wasn’t sure if it was T or bordering on M.

               Nicole’s mind was racing the entire way to the airport. There were a thousand little details, and even though she knew Waverly had it under control, she still felt anxious about something. At first, she thought it was the marriage: the lies, the feelings, all the potential for pain. But after about 45 minutes of overanalyzing everything, she had narrowed it down to the ceremony. There was something bugging her, but she couldn’t place it.

               Morgan was waiting outside the terminal with a duffle and a garment bag. She wasn’t sure how this reunion would go, but he quickly pulled her into a tight hug. “It’s so good to see you!”

               “You too, sir.”

               Morgan laughed. “None of that ‘sir’ business. You’re a deputy now, not a recruit or soldier. Besides, I’d like to think we’re friends – I am here for your wedding!”

               Nicole felt a soft comfort settle over her as she laughed with Morgan. “I’m glad to have you at my side this weekend. I don’t know if I could do it without you.”

               They started loading his stuff into the back of the cab and headed off towards Purgatory. After a few minutes, Morgan spoke up.

               “You having second thoughts Nic?” She looked over at him like she was trying to decide what to say. “Why don’t we stop for a bite? The airport food was limited.” He put his hand on her shoulder. “We’ll figure it out Nic. We always do.” She nodded and turned on her blinker.

 

* * *

 

 

               Waverly knew Nicole was headed to the airport, so when Wynonna suggested dinner, she agreed. She could use a break from all the wedding planning. Everything was running together and she had the constant fear that she was forgetting something.

               She’d just knocked the final big item of her list. Nicole and Waverly had asked Gus to officiate; there wasn’t a pastor or preacher or minister in 200km that would even consider marrying them. At first it had bothered Waverly, but she wasn’t sure why. She supposed she believed in God, if there were demons and hell there had to be the opposite too, right? But they’d never really been church people; Gus had them all dressed up and set in a pew come holidays, but most Sundays were spent taking care of the ranch.

               And then she realized that she was bothered because people were telling her no because they didn’t believe her love was as valid as their love. That bothered her. Nicole had found all sorts of Queer friendly churches in the city, but on short notice… When Nicole suggested asking Gus, all the disappointment had fallen away. No one loved and supported her like Gus. And if Gus approved, then fuck everyone else.

               They’d asked her over dinner. Waverly had been nervous, enough so that she couldn’t ask her herself. She leaned into Nicole and Nicole had gotten the hint. Nic had never been nervous, but Waverly wasn’t sure if that was her nature or her faith in Waverly and Gus. Gus had just smacked both palms on the table and stood to find a notebook. As she sat back down, she nodded and said, “Well, let’s do it.” They’d spent an hour hammering out the details of the ceremony and another 15 minutes getting her license. There really wasn’t anything else for Waverly to do.

 

* * *

 

 

               When Wynonna had said dinner, she really meant drinks. And a lot of them. They hadn’t gone to Shorty’s or the sketchy strip club (the only real options in Purgatory), Wynonna had dragged them two towns over for “privacy”. Waverly probably should have been suspicious when Doc drove them out there and offered to be back “later”, but it was too late to do anything about it anyways. As they pushed through the door to the bar, Waverly saw pink and white balloons across the back and a handful of old school friends and such from Purgatory. She turned to Wynonna who only smirked and threw a tacky sash over her shoulder. The girls all cheered and shots came out of nowhere.

               “Welcome to your bachelorette party! Your last chance to get shitfaced without a wife to nag you. Drink up, girl!” Chrissy had her arm thrown over Waverly’s as she talked. She was rather forcefully leading Waverly towards the table. The closer she got, the more decorations she could take in. On top of the balloons, there were all sorts of stereotypical bachelorette props.

               Sara, a nice girl a few years ahead of Waverly in school, ushered her towards her ‘throne’. “We weren’t sure how you were identifying now, so we got both flags!” Hanging from the back of one of the high barstools were the bisexual and pansexual flags tied together, and to the chair, with what looked like a rainbow shoelace. Waverly smiled and hugged her. “I love it! To be honest, I change my mind daily. Can I just be Nicole-sexual?” The girls cheered and whistled and Waverly could feel her cheeks burning. Heather was holding a bunch of straws and letting people pick one as they went. When they arrived at Waverly, her blush came back with a vengeance. The straws were designed in a way that you either found yourself drinking from a dick or motor-boating a pair of boobs. Waverly tentatively pulled out a ‘boob-straw’, as Wynonna had dubbed it, as she asked “Is this really necessary?”

               “It’s not cheating to drink from a tit straw, Waverly!” She wasn’t exactly sure who had said that, but it had everyone laughing and she was sure she wasn’t going to get out of this. She sipped her drink from the boob-straw and grimaced.

               “Damn that’s strong!”

               “Better be! We haven’t done our job right if you can still walk after all this.”

               Waverly groaned, but obliged when they started chanting for her to chug.

 

* * *

 

 

         Nicole and Morgan ended up at a dinner somewhere just outside of the city. It claimed to have the best patty melts and shakes in the area, so they decided to give them a try. They caught up on work and their lives since Nicole left. Morgan’s wife was expecting and he couldn’t wait to be a dad. Nicole knew they’d been trying for a while and she loved the pure joy on his face when he showed Nicole pictures of her belly and the sonogram. Nicole told him about the frustrations of being new in a small town and how all that had changed when she proposed. The natural segue to the wedding had Morgan asking about cold feet again.

               “I’m not worried about the marriage, just the wedding. I can’t wait to marry Waverly, or rather be married to Waverly.”

               “But something about the wedding is throwing you.”

               “I guess…”

               “Do you love her?”

               Nicole didn’t even hesitate. “Yes.”

               “And she loves you.” Nicole didn’t answer. “You worried she doesn’t love you?”

               Nicole was slow to answer. She’d thought about this a lot. “I know she loves me, but sometimes I wonder… I wonder if I’m the only one head over heels.” Morgan could tell she had more to say, so he waited. “Sometimes I worry that she’s marrying me because I’m the best option. The only option really.” Waverly didn’t really have a choice, but Nicole liked to think it was more than that. There were moments, where Nicole thought, hoped, that Waverly might feel more. The flirting and the looks…

               “How do I know if I’m going to regret this?”

               “Bigger question is: will you regret it if you don’t? There’s always the chance that it won’t work, but you can’t focus on that.” He looked her dead in the eye as he asked his next question. “If you walk away from this, don’t marry her, will you regret it?”

               Nicole didn’t hesitate. “Yes. With every fiber of my being.”

               Morgan grabbed her hand across the table. “Then it’s worth it – it’s worth the risk.”

               Nicole smiled and Morgan could see some of the panic leaving her face. She had barely picked at her food before, but now she heartily jumped in. Morgan laughed at the sauce running down her chin and their light teasing and playful banter returned.

               “So tell me about this wedding…”    

 

* * *

 

 

               Waverly was three drinks in and she had never been more thankful to be tipsy in her life. They’d spent the first hour laughing and talking, but eventually someone had ordered bar food for the table and everyone ended up sitting around eating. Once most of the food was gone, Sara started beaming; she had been whispering with Chrissy and a couple of the other girls. A couple of them stood up and pulled gift bags out from under the table. Everyone urged Waverly to open the gifts with such glee that Waverly was starting to get a bad feeling. By the fifth gift, she already had three sets of lingerie, a new (very skimpy) swimsuit and more lube than she knew what to do with. Wynonna’s gift worried her and she couldn’t bring herself to pull it out of the bag. She had held her blush back until this point, but now she was sure she looked like a tomato.

               “What is it?”

               “Yeah! Share with the class, Miss Earp.”

               Waverly protested and tried to hide the gift under the table, but the next thing she knew Chrissy had snatched the bag out of her hands and was moving to the other side of table.

               “No! Please!” The girls just laughed as Waverly hid her head in her hands. Chrissy quickly pulled out the ‘toys’ that Wynonna had bought for them to ‘play’ with on their honeymoon.

               “I didn’t know what you and Nicole already had, so I just guessed.”

               Wynonna was obviously reveling in Waverly’s embarrassment and the whole table was squealing and laughing with delight. Heather was holding the straps up, going “How does this even work?” Which led to a very colorful demonstration by Chrissy and Wynonna. Waverly quickly downed another shot and waited for them to get bored and move on.

               Wynonna found Waverly at the bar ordering another shot, slid up next to her and said quietly, “I know your…arrangement is just to solve your problem, but that doesn’t mean your honeymoon can’t be fun.”

               “Wynonna!” Waverly whispered. “You know it’s not like that.”

               “But it could be…” Waverly glared at her with a hint of question in her eyes, so Wynonna went on. “Nicole is attractive enough, and totally gay, and you look at her with disgusting little heart eyes whenever she comes around in those jeans that hug her ass and those flannels that pull tight across her chest.”

               Waverly’s shocked look had Wynonna chuckling.

               “What? I’m straight, but not blind.”

               The bartender arrived with their drinks and Waverly paused until he was gone again.

               “Point is, you guys might not be head over heels in love, but there’s attraction there, on both sides. If you’re going to be married for a while, you might as well enjoy the perks.” She patted Waverly’s hand. “Just think about it” she said as she walked away.

               Think about it? Now that’s all she’d be thinking about. It felt wrong to think about Nicole that way, not because Waverly didn’t find her attractive. Waverly had noticed; she’d gotten lost in her eyes, seen the way her jeans cupped her…but their arrangement was platonic. And it felt wrong thinking about Nicole in… non-platonic ways. She needed a distraction and the penis and breast shaped jello shots that appeared out of nowhere seemed like as good a distraction as any.

 

* * *

 

 

               The more they talked about the wedding, the more Nicole realized that she couldn’t answer a lot of the questions. It didn’t bother her, Waverly was excited about the planning and Nicole was apathetic. The things she had cared about, Waverly had accepted quickly. She wanted Nedley and Morgan; she wanted quick and quiet; and she wanted sweet tea. They talked about the wedding for quite a while until Morgan declared he knew what the problem was and he knew exactly how to fix it.

 

* * *

 

 

               Nicole and Morgan got into town a few hours later. They’d run their errand and Nicole felt like a huge weight was lifted. Morgan suggested they stop in the infamous bar where Nicole had met her bride and Nicole was naively caught unaware; not expecting the greeting they got. Half the deputies were sitting along the side of the bar where they had pushed 7 or 8 tables together to form one long table. Doc and a surprisingly happy looking Dolls were there too, along with a few familiar faces she knew from her patrols around town. She even saw some of her chess club buddies (with a giant black X on their hands, the bartender was only so generous).

Nicole looked at Morgan in surprise, but he just clapped her on the shoulder with a laugh. Perry, whom she barely knew but was apparently friends with Waverly, threw her and Morgan T-shirts. She hadn’t noticed that they were all wearing the same blue shirts. As Morgan pulled his over his thermal, she was able to read the generic stag pun written across the front (‘Stag Support Squad’). She looked at her own t-shirt and saw that it was one of those tux t-shirts with ‘I’m The Stag’ printed across the back and ‘Bride #2’ on the sleeve. She shook her head, but pulled it over her flannel anyways. She might think it’s all ridiculous, but she could be a good sport anyways. She looked at the pitchers of beer lining the table and the open bottles of whiskey and knew she was in for one hell of a night.

 

* * *

 

 

              Nicole’s night had been relatively tame, despite her fears. She’d expected to be pressured to drink or given shot after shot until she puked. But although they all drank a lot, they weren’t sloppy at the end of the night. Drunk, but not falling down. They played pool and darts and ate way too many French fries. At one point, one of the older deputies called them all over and gave a sweet little speech about the thrill of finding love and how happy they were to be celebrating with her. Seems like everyone knew they were planning to elope, but no one was bothered. Over the next hour, the various guys came over to offer her cards or small gifts. One of the deputies had given them cards for them to each provide her some of their advice for a happy marriage. Most of them had slipped cash into the cards “for the honeymoon”. She also got a flask, a silly “just married” t-shirt with handcuffs printed under the words and a new blazer that a few of them had pitched in on. Turns out, more than one of them had had to borrow a jacket to get into the nice restaurants on their honeymoon and it was still one of those embarrassing things their wives still brought up. Seemed the town, or at least the men in the town, were starting to warm up to her.

 

* * *

 

 

               Waverly wished she didn’t remember everything from the night before. She woke up with a splitting headache and a really strong desire to puke. She knew it always felt better once you got it out of your system but Waverly never could when she was hung over. She needed caffeine, carbs and grease before she could function. Like an angel, Nicole appeared at her door holding a cup and a plate. She peaked in tentatively and Waverly just groaned at her. Nicole chuckled and walked in, stopping to place the food on her nightstand and hand her the mug. Waverly downed half the mug of coffee as Nicole sat down on the edge of the bed. When Waverly came up for air, Nicole grabbed the plate and placed it gently in her lap. She had finally gotten the chance to use Wynonna’s donut maker and although they looked like a hot mess, they were delicious. Waverly moaned and practically inhaled the food on her plate.

               “Wow. You’re hungry.” Nicole said chuckling. “I can make more or scrabble some eggs – you should probably get some protein in you.”

               “You don’t have to –“ Waverly started as she moved to get out of bed. Nicole put her hand on Waverly’s thigh, stilling her movements.

               “I know. I want to. Just tell me what you need.”

              “Ugh. My head is killing me. I haven’t been this hung over in a long time.”

               Nicole pulled the now neglected plate from her lap and tapped the pillow. “Lay down.” Waverly looked at her for a second, before she lay down, groaning. When she had settled her head on the pillow, Nicole started rubbing small circles on her head with the tips of her finger. Waverly moaned and rolled over on her side. Nicole chuckled and kept rubbing. Waverly’s breathing slowly evened out and Nicole stilled her hand. She sat for a second, before tucking a strand of hair behind Waverly’s ear. She ran her fingers gently across Waverly’s cheek and then stood and walked out of the room, closing the door.

 

* * *

 

 

               When Waverly finally got up and showered, she made we way into the kitchen to find a note:

_Went to Gus’. Trying to finish setting up. Call Chrissy she’s been trying to get a hold of you._

               Waverly made plans to meet Chrissy to finish the centerpieces and the last finishing touches on the decorations. Nicole, Doc and Morgan were placing the seats and tables on Gus’ lawn, even though they were still a day out. They wanted everything ready this afternoon, so everything would go smoothly tomorrow.

 

* * *

 

               Nedley had invited everyone over for dinner the night before the wedding. The wedding was small and they didn’t really need any sort of rehearsal. Everyone knew what they needed to do and where they needed to be. The happy, easy-going atmosphere around the dinner party was exactly what Waverly and Nicole needed. Neither would admit it, but they were both nervous for the next day. Even Wynonna was on best behavior, as sober as Nicole had ever seen her.

               Wynonna had prepared a pep-talk for the two of them about how they needed to put on their best ‘we’re happily in love’ faces and make sure no one suspected. Turns out that she didn’t need it. The two lovebirds might be in denial, but everyone else could see it all over their faces. When the conversation died down, Wynonna stood up and grabbed her first (and only) drink of the night. She cleared her throat and started the toast she’d been agonizing over for days.

               “So, this isn’t exactly a traditional wedding, so I don’t know who’s supposed to speak and all that, but I wanted to. While I had the chance.” She looked around and saw the encouraging smile on Nicole’s face and got her confidence back. “I never thought anyone would be good enough for my Baby Girl, but I’m thinking I was wrong. Doesn’t happen often, I know.” The laughter was all friendly and it spurred her on. “Nicole is annoyingly good. Drives me crazy sometimes, but it’s comforting too. For my sister, you know? And I know she’ll always have our backs. I’m not sure why you want to be an Earp, but welcome to our crazy family!” She raised her glass as if to finish, before adding, “Remember kids, the walls in the Homestead are thin.” Waverly and Nicole both blushed and Wynonna laughed. Her face turned serious as she met Waverly’s eyes. “If you guys would raise your glasses…Good luck crazy kids! If anyone has a shot, it’s the two of you. Take care of each other. To Waverly and Nicole.” Everyone chimed in, “To Waverly and Nicole!”

 

* * *

  

               Sunday morning was the last time Nicole would wake up at her house. They had taken everything but the air mattress and Nicole’s bed over to the Homestead on Saturday. Everything was shoved into Nicole’s new room. She’d have to get unpacked when they got back. Waverly had been wanting to spruce up her own room, but had never been able to convince Wynonna to help, so they had plans to paint and decorate post-honeymoon.

               Morgan and Nicole weren’t allowed at the Homestead or Gus’ until noon, so she was getting ready at her own place. In theory, that was great; she could sleep in, get ready and then head over once everything was already done. In reality, she was awake most the night and was up before the sun. She’d already gone for a run, taken a shower and made breakfast before her alarm went off. If Morgan hadn’t been there to interfere, she probably would have been dressed and ready by 9:00. But he spent the morning distracting her and keeping the nerves at bay.

               When it was finally time to get ready for the wedding, time seemed to be speeding by too quickly. One minute she was reaching for her mascara, the next she was loaded into the car on the way to Gus’ ranch. Morgan was driving her truck with the last of her stuff loaded in the bed. He would stay at her place that night, then hand the keys off at the station before Gus drove him into the city. Morgan was singing along to the radio, but Nicole couldn’t find it in her to sing along. It seemed like everything was happening too quickly and too slowly all at the same time. She found herself wondering what Waverly would think when she saw Nicole standing at the end of the isle. She knew Waverly would be beautiful in every way and was only about 20% sure she’d make it through without crying.

 

               For Waverly, the dinner turned into a sleepover. Chrissy, Wynonna, Gus and Waverly stayed up until late in the night talking and laughing. Waverly woke up a bundle of nerves the next morning, but her family, because that’s what they really were, kept her calm and laughing. Wynonna actually managed to prepare food for them all, but only because none of the snacks required cooking. Waverly felt a bit like a princess through the whole morning. Her hair was now an elaborate twist of braids and flowers and her make up was flawless. She knew in the back of her mind that this was fake – that she wasn’t really getting married (at least not in the traditional sense), but she let herself get lost in the moment. She’d had very few moments like this; surrounded by love and family – being the star of the moment. She always deferred to others, let their happiness dictate her life, but not today. Today was about her and she was going to enjoy it. She’d worry about everything else tomorrow.

 

* * *

 

 

               The front yard had been transformed beautifully. There were maybe 20 chairs lined up, barely making an aisle; the rows were spaced wider than usual to extend the isle just a bit. Someone had found a long train of burlap that had been extended about 20 meters from the front door to the last row of chairs, and then all the way to the platform constructed for the ceremony. They’d be getting married surrounded by simple flowers, with only room for them and Gus on the step. Nicole was amazed with they pulled up and was suddenly hit by how real this all was. After greeting Doc, Dolls and Nedley, she was quickly ushered into the barn. She’d be getting dressed there and waiting until the start of the ceremony.

                Someone, she suspected Doc, had set up a mini makeshift bar in the middle of the barn. Morgan had been carrying her clothes and quickly hung them up along the wall. Nedley handed everyone a glass of Scotch (this is too classy a moment for the cheap stuff!) and they stood around the table. Nicole finally had a chance to look around. Morgan, Dolls and Nedley were in their dress uniforms, but all three looked extremely different. It should all look like chaos, but it seemed to work. Even Doc had found a more modern suit to wear for the equation. No one spoke for a while, they all stood there sipping their Scotch. Each man took a turn speaking, although they all used the same low, quiet, thoughtful tone.

               “I knew you’d be a good soldier, a good officer from the moment I saw you. Even as you’ve grown into yourself, you’ve stayed true to what I saw in you in the beginning. You’re honest, fair, kind, steady and willing to do whatever it takes to protect the innocent and those you love…”

                “I took a chance on you; hiring you on recommendation. But I needed someone that could be more than just a deputy. We have plenty of people that want no more in life than what we’ve got. And that’s a good trait, as long as there’s someone that will step up. I’m not worried about Purgatory, now that we know you’re going to stay a while…”

               “Wynonna trusts you; trusts you enough to call you for back up when I’m not around. We both know she’d rather go alone, but that doesn’t always work out. She needs back up. Waverly needs back up. I think I can trust you to be that back up…”

               “I have _always_ been a good judge of character, but you surprised me. I saw the good, honest lawman in you and expected nothing more. Wyatt was the ideal lawman. Or so the story goes. But Wyatt was unyielding, even when he should have bent. He saved many people, but would not do what needed to be done to save the rest. I have always been too willing to bend and break to get what I want. You have shown me that people can walk that line. Waverly seems to think I can change; become more honest than I have _ever_ been. Maybe…”

 

* * *

 

 

               All too soon, Nicole and Waverly were being pushed into their wedding clothes. Doc left to go find Waverly and Dolls went to find a spot to sit. They had managed to keep the wedding rather small, but they couldn’t help but invite more people than originally intended. The majority of the 20 or so seats were full when Nicole peaked out the barn. She was dressed and ready, just waiting for her cue. She is supposed to walk out with Morgan and Nedley and wait for Waverly at the end of the aisle. The music started, something classical that Waverly liked, and Nicole walked out. She stood on the platform, facing Gus, with Morgan and Nedley standing next to her. Gus smiled at her and squeezed her hand. It was pure torture for Nicole to be facing away from where Waverly would be walking. Gus would cue her when Waverly reached the back of the aisle and she could turn and look. Morgan put a steadying hand on Nicole’s shoulder and when she looked over, he gave her a smile. Nedley gave her a single head nod, but it was accompanied with the closest thing to a smile she had ever seen from him.

 

* * *

 

 

           Waverly was standing at the bottom of the stairs, just inside the door. The last of the women had left to find seats, leaving Chrissy and Wynonna. They did their best to keep her smiling and laughing, but Waverly could feel the nerves building. She turned to look at Wynonna, panic written across her face.

               “I don’t know if I can do this. I don’t know – what if she regrets marrying me? What if I mess this all up and she doesn’t even want to be friends any more?”

               Chrissy turned Waverly gently so she was facing her. “That woman loves you. I can see it all over both of your faces when ever you look at each other. She’s not going to regret it.”

               Wynonna knew she was worried about the other part of the marriage; the pretending; the deal; the curse. “She knows what she’s getting in to, Waves.”

               Waverly turned towards her sister. ”But does she? Does she really know what it means to be an Earp – everything that goes along with the name?”

               Chrissy watched the sisters and the way they could communicate without a word. “This could be your chance Waverly. You’ve been living under the Earp name so long, this could be your chance to get away.”

               “Chrissy’s right. Being an Earp is a curse in this town. People will always look at us and see Daddy’s mistakes and Willa; that night… You have a chance to be seen as more than that.” Waverly’s eyes were welling up and she could barely squeak out her response.

               “I don’t know if I can…”

              Wynonna squeezed her hand. “You’ll always be part of the Earp family, but that doesn’t mean you need to carry the weight of the name. Like you said, Daddy’s been controlling your life for too long. Besides, I have _soooo_ many Haught jokes.”

              Waverly laughed and worked on drying her eyes without messing up her make up. A knock on the door restarted the giggles. And Doc slowly pushed the door open a crack, leaning in. “Well hello ladies. Are we ready?” Waverly nodded, so he slipped in the door. “You are absolutely stunning Waverly.” He said as he held his hat across his chest.

               Chrissy squeeze her hand as she walked to the door. “Looks like it’s time to start. I’ll meet you down there.” She stepped out the door and stood on the porch. When Wynonna joined her, they’d start the walk down the aisle. When the door was closed, Wynonna turned to her sister.

               “I know you’re worried about the arrangement with Nicole, about the revenants…but I think this has become about more than that now.”

               “What are you talking about?”

               Wynonna’s eyes were sympathetic and yet, they felt like they were boring into her soul. “Maybe you don’t see it yet, or maybe you don’t want to see it, but your feelings are more than…friendly. I was joking with the bachelorette party gift, but only with what was in the bag. I think this honeymoon could be the turning point…if you want it to.”

               Wynonna give her a long, tight hug, before pulling away with a nod and heading out the door. Doc offered her his arm. She took a deep breath before linking her arm through his. He patted her hand gently, before slowly opening the door. Wynonna and Chrissy had made it to the end of the aisle and were standing next to her side of the step. Chrissy smiled and Wynonna nodded and they slowly walked down the steps. Waverly hadn’t looked at Nicole yet, had been focusing on finding strength in her sister. But when they reached the edge of the aisle, she looked over. What she saw made her stop. Everyone looked at her with concern.

               Waverly could only see the back of Nicole, but it was still a stunning sight. Her hair was out of her normal French braid; most of it falling in gentle waves down her back. Waverly hadn’t realized how long her hair was, but she could see that it actually sat below her shoulders. Nicole had two tiny braids running from her temples to meet in the back with a simple, silver clip. Waverly had expected a suit – had been told she was wearing a suit, but she wasn’t wearing the suit. Instead, she had on a simple white dress. It was short, just above her knees, and the dress dipped low in the back. The A-line shape fit her body perfectly and the simple straps showed off her muscles. She imagined the front would be tight across her chest and would have a low cut neckline matching the dip in the back of the dress. Only when she had taken in Nicole, did she realize that everyone around her was holding their breath. She looked up at Doc and smiled. “Wow.” He smiled and nodded subtly, before he slowly began their walk down the isle.

 

               It felt like years had passed since Chrissy and Wynonna had reached the front. They both smiled at her as they settled into their spots, Wynonna standing within arm’s reach of where her sister would end up. She heard the door close another time and a combination of excitement and nerves filled her chest. She had timed Wynonna’s walk down the aisle from when she heard the door shut, until she could see her at the front. She wanted to know how long she’d have to wait until Waverly arrived. But something was wrong. It was talking a lot longer and everyone’s faces became strained, like they were trying to hide their panic. All that she could think was that Waverly had changed her mind and was going to run. She felt, rather than saw, Morgan turn to look over her shoulder. When he looked back, he was smiling and he put another gentle hand on her shoulder, before quickly dropping back into parade rest. She felt like she could breathe again; if Morgan was smiling, then Waverly hadn’t run. Yet. She heard a murmur amongst the attendees and Waverly must have started walking again, because Gus was smiling.

 

               Waverly was buzzing beside him as they started walking again. The look on her face had changed when she had seen Nicole. Gone were then nerves, replaced with anticipation. He could not think of a time when Waverly had looked as beautiful as when she saw Nicole. He could not know who else had heard Waverly breathe out a word filled with wonderment, but he saw the anxiety leave the faces of those watching. When they had just passed the first row of seats, he stopped and turned towards Waverly. He bowed slightly and moved to stand off to the side.

 

               When Gus nodded, Nicole turned. Her entire face lit up when she saw Waverly. She’d never seen anything so beautiful in her entire life. Waverly was positively beaming and her eyes traveled the length of her dress. She just barely heard Waverly breathe out a “wow” before they finally made eye contact. Nicole couldn’t control the smile that crossed her face, and she didn’t want to. She doesn’t remember stepping off the platform and closing the distance between them. Nor does she remember taking Waverly’s hands in her own.

               Somewhere in the back of her mind, she heard the other people, the clicking of a camera, Gus telling everyone to sit. She felt, more than saw, the people that had been surrounding them move to sit.

 

               If the back of Nicole had made her stop in her tracks, watching Nicole turn and light up had stopped her heart, just for a second. She gave Waverly the same look that she’d seen when they first met in Shorty’s. The one where she bashfully tilted her head and looked up at Waverly through those long lashes. Her smile made her even more beautiful and Waverly couldn’t keep her eyes from wandering over her dress, just as Nicole’s were wandering over hers. She lost track of time, coming back to reality as Wynonna and Chrissy left to sit in the first row of seats. Gus’ voice gently broke the trance, and the rest of the world faded back in.

               “If you two love birds will stop making eyes and step up here, we can begin.” The laughter from the witnesses gathered, sent blushes spreading across both of their faces. Waverly and Nicole both stepped up in front of Gus. They were beaming at each other as they stood there, and Gus’ smile as she watched them, lit up her entire face.

               “It’s not very often that we have a chance to celebrate love. We often gather to grieve or to share everyday moments, but to truly celebrate love in our lives… Nicole and Waverly asked all of you here today to help them celebrate this love. They wanted a small, intimate ceremony full of the people that love and support them every day. Love like theirs is often unnecessarily controversial – people allow their fear and their lack of understanding cloud their judgment. But Love is Love, no matter who you are. Now, I’m going to stop rambling and get to it. Ladies, join hands.”

               Waverly and Nicole turned away from Gus and towards each other. They smiled as they linked their hands.

               “This is not to be taken lightly. You’re agreeing to love and protect each other through everything – to be each other’s strength when they have none of their own – to take their family as your own and live as one. Do you understand?” Both nodded. Gus pulled a small book out of her pocket and opened it to the marked page. “Nicole. We’ll begin with you, alright?” Nicole nodded, still smiling, but with a hint of seriousness. “Alright then. Repeat after me:

“I, Nicole take thee, Waverly to be my lawfully wedded Wife,”

               “I, Nicole take thee, Waverly to be my lawfully wedded Wife,”

“To have and to hold”

               “To have and to hold”

“For better or for worse”

               “For better or for worse”

“For richer or for poorer”

               “For richer or for poorer”

“In sickness and in health”

               “In sickness and in health”

“To love and to cherish”

               “To love and to cherish”

“From this day forward”

               “From this day forward”

“Till death do us part”

               “Till death do us part.”

 

“Waverly?” Waverly nodded and Gus began. “I, Waverly take thee, Nicole to be my lawfully wedded Wife,”

               “I, Waverly take thee, Nicole to be my lawfully wedded Wife,”

“To have and to hold”

               “To have and to hold”

“For better or for worse”

               “For better or for worse”

“For richer or for poorer”

               “For richer or for poorer”

“In sickness and in health”

               “In sickness and in health”

“To love and to cherish”

               “To love and to cherish”

“From this day forward”

               “From this day forward”

“Till death do us part”

               “Till death do us part.”

 

               “Now if we can have the rings…” Morgan stood from his seat and fished the rings from his pocket. Nedley and Morgan came to stand next to Nicole; Chrissy and Wynonna next to Waverly. Morgan passed the rings to Gus, before settling back into his spot. Gus handed Nicole the first ring. Just as Gus had instructed prior to the wedding, Nicole slid the ring on to Waverly’s finger. “With this ring, I thee wed.” Waverly took Nicole’s ring from Gus and slowly slid it onto her finger. “With this ring, I thee wed.” Both women beamed at each other.

               “Well then. Now onto the good part. Nicole and Waverly.” Gus took the hands closest to her and squeezed before reconnecting them. She raised their hands up and declared: “I now pronounce you Wife and Wife.” She let go of their hands, looked them square in the eye and said, “You may kiss your bride.”

               Nicole and Waverly’s eyes went wide at the same moment. It was a good thing they were facing Gus, because that meant she was the only one to see the panic written across their faces. The guests were hooting and hollering, urging them on, so Nicole turned to Waverly. Her eyes scanned Waverly’s face, seeking consent. A slight nod, unseen by anyone but them, encouraged Nicole. She gently cupped Waverly’s face with her free hand, looking her in the eyes. Time seemed to slow for both women as she slowly moved towards Waverly. Waverly moved her hand to the back of Nicole’s neck and pulled her the rest of the way. Their lips met slowly, tentatively. It barely lasted a moment, but it seemed like an eternity. They were broken from the moment by the clapping and cheering. Waverly felt herself blushing as she dropped her hand from Nicole’s neck, sliding it down along her arm. She linked their hands back together and turned towards the people watching. Nicole raised their joined hands and the clapping got louder. Nicole and Waverly both chuckled, looking at each other before quickly turning back towards the guests.

               They walked down the aisle, with their wedding party trailing behind them. Nicole finally noticed the photographer when she made them stop and pose with the wedding guests in the background. She pulled the newly married couple towards Gus’ garden where they had set up the camera equipment. Nicole would have thought she’d be tired of smiling long before the photos were done, but she couldn’t seem to help it. They took pictures alone, together, with family and friends, without family and friends… The last set of photos, long after she had sent the rest of the people away, were taken back on the platform. Someone had moved the extra decorations out of the way and all that was left were some simple flowers. The sun was setting behind them and the photographer had them framed to capture the light perfectly. Nicole felt happier than she ever had when she turned to face Waverly. Everything she felt was written across Waverly’s face as well. They posed holding hands, gently kissing (which about blew Nicole’s mind) and resting their foreheads together. When the photographer finally declared the photos finished, Waverly and Nicole had their first moment alone.

               Neither was sure how long they stood just looking at each other with matching smiles and bashful looks. Waverly slowly moved to lean into Nicole’s body; Nicole’s arms naturally wrapping around her waist as Waverly’s linked behind her neck. She leaned her head into Nicole’s shoulder and her breath tickled Nicole’s neck. Nicole swore she heard one more click from the photographer, but she couldn’t bring herself to care. Waverly was here in her arms and nothing had ever felt so right. Waverly’s hands slowly started playing with her hair and Nicole felt a gentle kiss on her neck. Then Waverly was giggling and pulling away. Nicole ran her thumb across Waverly’s face one more time, before dropping her gaze bashfully. Waverly linked their hands and slowly pulled Nicole away from the platform. Gus had told them that everyone would be waiting on the back deck when they were done and they slowly began making their way over.

               Both knew somewhere in the back of their mind that this wasn’t real; they had married to save Waverly. But neither wanted to face that truth. They’d deal with that later, when they had time to confront their feelings. Right now? They were going to enjoy their wedding.

 

* * *

 

 

               Gus had made quite the spread for the mini-reception. Both Nicole and Waverly’s favorite dishes were featured (and Nicole’s sweet tea of course) along with several different sides and desserts. The party had turned into a bit of a potluck after their guests learned of their (sort of) elopement. People had brought drinks to share and many of the guests were halfway to tipsy before Nicole and Waverly even arrived. They both _tried_ to make it to the food, but were stopped every few feet along the way. When they finally made it to their table, they were happy to find plates waiting for them.

               They hardly had tome to eat before someone pulled out a Bluetooth speaker. Waverly hadn’t picked a first dance, but Wynonna had it covered. Waverly was expecting something ridiculous, but was surprised with the sentiment. “First Day Of My Life” started playing as they walked to the makeshift dance floor. Their ‘DJ’ played “Die a Happy Man” next and other couples slowly trickled onto the dance floor (led by Morgan and Chrissy who did a very dramatic waltz around the space). Two songs turned into three when “Ooh Love” started playing.

               They were interrupted before three became four when Morgan and Gus cut in. Everyone cleared off the floor as Wynonna started an overly sentimental song about parents watching their kids grow up. Nicole didn’t recognize it, but Gus and Waverly did. Nicole wasn’t sure what Gus was saying to Waverly but they were both beaming. Morgan offered her congratulations and found himself more emotional than usual. They were both near tears when he apologized for having to stand in for her father at the wedding. He had to look away to collect himself when she assured him that she wouldn’t have it any other way. They spent the rest of the dance altering between crying and laughing.

 

               Waverly recognized the song that started as soon as her dance with Gus started. It was a song that Gus had sung many times when she was growing up. She hardly had the chance to listen to the words, although it didn’t really matter because they both knew them by heart. Gus kept assuring her that she was proud of who Waverly had become; that she was proud how she always made lemonade out of Ward’s lemons. Waverly felt the tears, but didn’t fight them and neither did Gus. The song was over long before she wanted it to be and Gus pulled away with a quick kiss on the cheek. She squeezed Nicole’s hand as Morgan came over to give Waverly a hug.

               Wynonna cut in next, demanding a dance with her baby sister. “It’s my right as the elder sister to pick the song” so they ended up dancing to “Hakuna Matata” because “That’s our jam Baby Girl!” Their dance turned into more of a sing-along, but it was perfect in it’s own way. The rest of the night is a blur of dancing and too much sparkling wine. Before they knew it, they were being loaded into the back of Nedley’s squad car and driving off. One of the deputies had driven Waverly’s jeep, loaded with their bags to the hotel. They were only staying there the first night and would drive the rest of the way in the morning.

               The two stumbled to their door where Nicole struggled to get the key card to work. Waverly tried to walk in, but Nicole blocked the door with her arm.

               “Wait Waves! I’m ‘posed to carry you cross the, cross the, into the room!” Waverly giggled but leaned into Nicole. Even though she was on her way to drunk, Nicole was steady as she lifted Waverly. Their giggles stopped abruptly and they both froze. It was as if they both realized the significance of the moment. Nicole slowly moved into the room, turning slightly to protect Waverly’s head. She stopped just short of the bed, trying to decide what to do. One look at the panic on Waverly’s face and Nicole slowly lowered her so she was standing in front of Nicole. Waverly wouldn’t look at her, so she quickly turned back and grabbed their bags, pulling them into the room. She placed them on the bed before bowing dramatically and saying, “Your bag m’lady.” Waverly’s laughter calmed some of Nicole’s nerves and she started unzipping her suitcase. Waverly stepped up to her own bag and did the same.

               “God! I can’t wait to get out of this dress.” Waverly’s eyes went wide when she realized what she’d said. “I mean, I love it, it’s beautiful, but I’m terrified of spilling something or ripping the lace or…”              

               Nicole laughed, the sounds calming Waverly. “I know what you mean. I felt really pretty and absolutely don’t regret wearing the dress, but I would kill to be in sweats right now!” Waverly laughed and agreed, but stilled.

               “I didn’t…I mean, it’s fine, I mean great…I didn’t know you were wearing a dress.” She hesitantly looked up at Nicole, who looked panicked.

               “Was I not supposed to? God, Waverly. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to mess everything up – “

               “You didn’t!” Her hand on Nicole’s arm stilled Nicole’s panic. “Doc said you went suit shopping, so I just assumed…”

               “Yeah. We did. But the closer to the wedding it got, the more unsettled I was.” Waverly’s eyes went wide and Nicole rushed to reassure her. “Not about marrying you! God Waverly, I wanted to marry you more than I think I’ve ever wanted anything.” Nicole’s eyes went wide as she realized what she said. But Waverly didn’t seem upset, if anything, she seemed relieved. So Nicole continued. “Morgan could tell I was uneasy and he was the first to realize what was worrying me.” She looked so bashful and uncertain that Waverly found herself grabbing her hand. Nicole’s face softened and she seemed to find the strength to continue. “I just, I never got the chance to wear the dress, you know? I know I don’t seem like the kind of girl that cares about that, and I didn’t think that I did until talking to Morgan, but I really wanted my moment, you know? I know it’s probably bad form to bring up my failed marriage on our wedding night, but I didn’t get to wear a dress then, she didn’t want me showing her up, which should have been a clue… Morgan suggested that we go look at dresses and I tried this one on and fell in love… I just felt so pretty and so confident…it felt right and you said you didn’t care what I wore as long as I was confident so I went for it.”

               “You made the right choice.” Waverly made a show of checking Nicole out and they both laughed. They stood there for a moment, before Waverly turned away from Nicole. Nicole was confused until Waverly looked over her shoulder. “Can you…” She said, gesturing to her back and turning back around.

               “Oh. Right.” Nicole stepped closer and hesitantly reached for the first button. She could feel her hands shaking as she undid the first button. One down and… 20 to go? Fuck. Nicole tried to undo the buttons, but her hands were shaking and she had to go a lot slower than she would have liked. Not that she was trying to get Waverly out of her clothes! I mean, like… _that._ She made it about half way down Waverly’s back before she realized how fast Waverly’s breathing had become. She tried to focus on the buttons and not what that meant. Slowly, she managed to get all the buttons. Without realizing it, she traced her hand up Waverly’s spine, before slowly sliding the straps off Waverly’s shoulders. She heard Waverly’s breath hitch and she quickly stepped back.

               “I think, uh, um, I think that’s, I think I got them all.” Nicole mental smacked herself for her inability to think or form a sentence. Waverly turned around, one arm across her chest holding her dress up. Her straps had fallen down her arms and Nicole had a hard time tearing her eyes away.

               Waverly managed to squeak out a “Thanks”. Barely. She met Nicole’s eyes, and with a courage she didn’t know she possessed, she move her arm and let her dress fall. Nicole’s eyes went wide as the dress exposed more skin. When the dress hit the floor, Nicole’s eyes snapped up to Waverly’s. Her eyes were wide and Waverly struggled not to squirm.

               “I, uh… Chrissy… I mean, the…it was a gift…bachelorette party, you know…I just…”

               “Wow.”

               Waverly’s anxiety disappeared. Her voice was higher than usual as she asked, “You like it?”

               Nicole seemed to realize that she was staring and looked back up at Waverly’s face with wide eyes. “Like it? God, Waves… You’re…” She found herself gesturing at Waverly’s body, her eyes drawn downwards again. Her voice was quiet and breathless as she said, “God, Waves. You’re beautiful. I don’t – I don’t know how I got this lucky.” Her eyes quickly snapped up. “Not that I – not that I’m expecting –“

               “I know.” Waverly added quietly. She surveyed her own outfit. Chrissy had given her a white lingerie set, that “is made to go under that dress. It’s tradition!” Waverly wasn’t sure why she wore it; there was nothing traditional about their wedding. But Nicole’s reaction was worth it. She was confident, but honestly, it had been a long time since anyone had told her she was beautiful. She found herself melting. Her tan was offset and exaggerated by the bright white of the lingerie. The bottoms barely covered anything. Chrissy called them cheeky and Waverly thought that was a pretty accurate description. The back was ruched and that pulled the hem of the underwear up, revealing more than it hid. She found herself wanting to turn around and reveal the back, but she couldn’t bring herself to look away from Nicole. The top was nearly see-through, and just barely pushed everything upwards. It was covered in delicate lace and reminded Waverly of Nicole’s dress. Nicole seemed to be committing the entire outfit to memory and Waverly found that she didn’t mind.

               Nicole finally realized she was staring and quickly turned away. She realized that she had turned her back to Waverly when she felt soft hands unfastening the clip and the top of her dress. She held her breath as Waverly pulled the zipper down, only breathing again when she felt Waverly’s hands back at the top of her breath. Waverly seemed to hesitate; trying to decide if she could take off Nicole’s dress. Nicole reached her hand across her chest and put her hand on Waverly’s. As she moved Waverly’s hand to push the strap down, Waverly seemed to get the hint. Next thing she knew, her dress was falling to the ground and she was turning around. She felt Waverly’s eyes searching her body.

               Nicole’s underwear wasn’t nearly as fancy as Waverly’s but Waverly didn’t seem to care. She had found lacy white boy shorts and a matching bralette at a store in Purgatory and though she might die at the knowing look the lady had given her. But she felt pretty and she felt confident and she thought she might need that. So who cared what she thought, right? And right now, she was thinking that she’d made the right choice. Waverly’s eyes were wide and her breathing, erratic. Nicole gulped and tried not to squirm. She wasn’t uncomfortable, but she suddenly found herself shy. Waverly looked up and smiled hesitantly; only one side of her mouth smiling. They froze like that for what felt like an eternity; both trying to find the words.

               “Waverly…” Waverly looked up at Nicole with uncertain eyes. “You’re – God, you’re beautiful. But I’m – we’re… We shouldn’t.” Waverly looked devastated and looked away. Nicole grabbed her arm and Waverly looked back. “I want…to. But we’re drunk and I want… I don’t know. I just know it can’t be like this…”

               Waverly seemed to relax. She nodded once and turned to pull clothes from her bag. Nicole saw the tiny cheer shorts and tight tank and had to fight a groan. Woman was gonna kill her. She reached for her own pjs and turned towards the wall, trying to offer a little bit of privacy. The two slowly moved around each other, getting ready for bed. When they finally slipped between the sheets, neither could sleep. The laid on their backs, stiff as a board, staring up at the ceiling and trying not to touch each other. It was going to be a long night.

 

* * *

 

               Wynonna woke up the day after the wedding to a phone call. She quickly declined, trying to quiet the infernal noise causing the pain in her head. She groaned and rolled over to look at the clock. She found herself rolling into a strong, solid body and froze. Please say it was someone she knew! She couldn’t see his face, so she delicately leaned over him, only to realize he was face down in the pillow. Fuck. Got to try to slip out of bed… she grabbed her phone and slowly eased herself out of bed. Who ever he was, he groaned and she froze. When he settled into the pillow she started moving again; stopping to pick up her clothes along the way. When she was out of the room and the door was closed, she finally looked at her phone. Six missed call from Dolls and a voicemail.

               “Earp…look, I tried to call, but you didn’t answer…” He hesitated and Wynonna felt herself start to panic. “I didn’t want to do this over the phone, but… Earp. They found someone. She couldn’t tell us who she was – had been there for too long – brainwashed probably, but Earp… Nedley thinks you might know her. Says she looks a lot like your sister – like Willa. You need to get down here. Someone needs to ID her and she isn’t in the right – she can’t tell us who she is. Earp. You need to get down here.

* * *

 


	19. Chapter 19

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Lenny_Murray said: "Willa, the only thing worse than Champ."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. This is much shorter than the last.  
> 2\. No WayHaught...  
> 3\. Here comes Willa.  
> 4\. This is very loosely based on 1X10, but it doesn't really stick to cannon.  
> 5\. Please don't hate me for any of numbers 1-4.

_“Hold on Lonnie – can’t hear you. Ok. Try again.”_

_“There’s a girl. Found outside of town… looks like she came out of the Pine Barrens…There’s not much left of her Sherriff.”_

_Nedley grunted and looked over at the wedding party. There was no way he was going to take away either of their special days. “Keep it off the wires for now. I’ll be there in 20.”_

_“Should I call for backup?”_

_“I’ll bring my own.”_

The wedding was all down hill from “Hakuna Matata” for Wynonna. She had spent the next hour dancing badly with her sister and sister-in-law. Man that’s weird to say. Wynonna had a sister-in-law now; one that could actually keep up with the Earps. They’d gone through three and a half bottles, just between the three of them. When one of the deputies offered to drive them to their hotel, Wynonna had stayed and finished the fourth bottle on her own. Nedley, Dolls and most of the Deputies had already left, but a few people hung around to help clean up. The atmosphere suddenly seemed a lot chillier to Wynonna, as reality came crashing back in. So when Doc tried to take her home, she insisted on going to Shorty’s instead.

 

_“Doc. I need you to keep the girls distracted.” Dolls was smiling, but it looked more like an animal trying on a human face than a proper smile. He was working hard to hide the seriousness of his prior conversation, but it was not working particularly well._

_“And why would I do that?”_

_“Because I know you care about Waverly.”_

_Doc had been studiously ignoring the man, but now quickly turned to face him, ready to lash out in anger. The look on Dolls’ face stopped him in his tracks. Under the abnormally uptight façade he wore so well, Doc could see some genuine emotion._

_Dolls seemed to realize that Doc would not cooperate without more information._

_“Something came up – a case. Maybe. They’re not sure. But Nedley’s been called out and he’s asked me to come along too. He doesn’t think it’s anything…that would need an Earp, so I don’t want to interrupt – “_

_“So you want me to babysit?” Doc spat out._

_“No. I want you to do what you do best and bluff” Dolls spat back with just as much venom. He seemed to collect himself, but the tone of his voice stayed just as contentious._

_“If we all leave now, the whole façade falls. Waverly and Nicole aren’t the kind of people that will leave for a honeymoon if they heard about a case –_ even if _they aren’t needed. And Wynonna leaving before the brides do would send up quite a few red flags. I’m not asking you to babysit, I’m asking you to keep this wedding from derailing.”_

_Dolls looked over at the two women, dancing and laughing together, before quietly adding, “they don’t get many moments like this. They didn’t choose the fight, but they suffer anyways. I thought that you would at least understand that – let them have their one day before shit breaks loose again.”_

 

When Wynonna and Doc reached Shorty’s, she quickly switched to whiskey, her old friend! There had been dancing, maybe even on a table. She vaguely remembered standing on the bar and banging a pool cue like a cane to get everyone’s attention.

           “Listen up Fuckers!! My baby sister just got married and drove off with her wife for their honeymoon. Which means…I’m stuck with you lot, while they’re off getting lucky in some swanky hotel. So. Who’s buying me a drink?”

 

           _When the Nedley and Dolls arrived, the body was undisturbed. Someone was taking photos and collecting samples, but they’d left her exactly where they found her. There wasn’t much left really. A wolf, or maybe something larger, had ripped her body to shreds. The only witness was scared out of his mind. He kept saying something about Pine Barrens. The freaky mark on her face, two dark black lines painted from mid-forehead to mid-cheek seemed to mean something to Nedley._

           _“You’ve seen this before?”_

           _Nedley grunted as he knelt to get a better look. “There was, is I guess, a cult. We tracked them for a while before they disappeared.”_

           _He stood back up and nodded towards their vehicle. He didn’t speak again until they got back in. “Led by a man that goes by Yiska. Lures runaway girls to ‘sanctuary’ from the evil world – away from ‘the mind control of radio waves and phone towers.” Nedley paused again._

           _“They were all runaways – no where to go – no one to miss them until Ruby. Mom tracked her to us, but Ruby had disappeared with out a trace. She spent looking for her daughter, following up on rumors and rumblings. She was able to get a few solid details, get us a lead. But we raided the place and found little evidence that they had been there. Two weeks later, Ruby was pushed out of a speeding van; dead, with these same marks. Witnesses had seen the same marks on the girls in the van. Haven’t seen or heard anything since.”_

           _“You gave up.”_

           _Nedley snapped his head towards Dolls. “Never. We’ve been following every lead that comes through, but the forest is large and it’s too much ground to cover without spooking them and risk the chance of catching them.”_

           _“So why leave a body now? And why do it so publicly?”_

           Wynonna doesn’t remember much after that. There was the guy who got a little too handsy, only to get a knee to the junk; and the brothers or friends or something who offered to show her a good time. But every time she looked at the bar, Doc was there watching. She’s fairly certain that he even chased off a few sleaze balls when she wasn’t really paying attention. But he never tried to get her to stop drinking. And when she fell off one of the bar stools, he scooped her up and carried her out.

 

           _“Boss? The results are in.” Nedley waved the deputy in and flipped the file open on the table. The deputy seemed uncertain about speaking in front of Dolls, but one look from his boss had him stuttering again. “Um… they found splinters from trees common in Pine Barrens, so no help there. But there was something interesting about the body. Coroner said he found a picture on her stomach that looked like it had been finger painted on. The same picture was found all over her body. We couldn’t make out the whole image because of the violence of the scavengers, but we were able to piece together most of the image._

           _Nedley and Dolls looked at the image, but it wasn’t any symbol Dolls was familiar with. He started rambling about ancient symbols and books he needed to find, but was cut off by a hand on his arm. Nedley pulled the photo from his hand and started rotating it around. When he finally settled the photo, one corner was pointing just left of what would be 12:00. He quickly stood up and pulled down on a cord, hanging from the wall. When he held the photo up to the map now hanging from the ceiling, it all became obvious._

           Doc had managed to wrangle Wynonna into a vehicle, but driving it was another story. Waverly had been offering to teach him how to drive, but his pride hadn’t allowed it. Instead, he was struggling to find a way to turn the blasted vehicle on.

 

           _It hadn’t taken long to assemble a team. Deputies and officers were called in from other towns for an ‘emergency search and rescue operation’. They were told to come armed since they’d be in the woods at night. Nedley was determined to keep things quiet until the last minute. No one but Dolls and his own deputies knew about the map or the raid until they reached the edge of the forest. Things moved quickly from there._

           It took Doc nearly an hour to make a 20-minute drive across town, but Wynonna was safely in her bed. Dolls had promised to keep Doc appraised of the situation, so he had nothing else to do, but wait. Wynonna had insisted that he sleep on the couch instead of outside and he quickly agreed.

 

           _Twenty women had been rescued from the commune; three were lost, trying to defend Yiska._

           _Once the smoke cleared, one of the officers from the other city over started scanning their fingerprints. Many of the girls wouldn’t or couldn’t tell them who they were. Families were contacted and arrangements were made for the night._

           _Until Eve. Because Eve? Well, her fingerprints didn’t belong to a runaway from another city. Her prints belonged to a missing girl from Purgatory itself. A girl long assumed to be dead. They belonged to one Willa Earp._

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter should get us caught up to speed. We'll resume our regularly scheduled WayHaught next time.


	20. Author's note

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Not a chapter, just a note. Bit of a buzz kill really...

Sorry to trick you into thinking I posted early. It's actually the opposite really. When I get emotional, normally I write. It helps me channel my feelings and start to cope. This time though, it's not working.

I lost my partner in crime yesterday - my cousin that helped me survive family get togethers. He helped me escape when the extroverts got to be too much and he taught me how to dodge questions. Last Christmas, we cooked for the family and it was the first time I really felt like anyone saw me. Sounds very melodramatic, but isn't family always like that?

He was supposed to be coming to visit me this weekend. I was going to show him around (he'd always wanted to visit Seattle). Now he won't be here and he won't be at the wedding. There's going to be a very tall home in our family. 

I've been staring at my screen, trying to finish this chapter, but all I can seem to do is cry. So sorry to dump on you guys and sorry that things have stalled. I'll be back as soon as I can manage.


	21. A Recap

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's been a long time since I've updated, so here's what you missed...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry I've been gone so long friends. I can't promise I'm back with any sort of regularity, but I'm trying. I wrote this mostly because I couldn't remember what all had already happened (and if I can't remember after reading each chapter at least a dozen times, how would you?)
> 
> Thanks for being patient with me! I do plan on finishing this story; it’s my baby. [More notes about this at the end; who wants to start the chapter with a buzz kill?]

Everything you need to know in 2,300 or so words:

          Waverly was promised to a revenant in a deal Ward made to try to keep his family safe. It obviously didn’t work. Waverly and Wynonna found out with only a few weeks to try and find a solution. Luckily: there _is_ a loophole. Unluckily: it sucks too. Waverly can get out of marrying mystery baddie, _if_ she’s already married.

          Meanwhile, Purgatory has a new deputy (who is secretly too excited about the uniform). But Purgatory isn’t the most welcoming to outsiders and the only friends she’s made are the high school students that helped her move, and her four-legged friend. She can’t seem to get the towns people to trust her. Nedley orders her to make friends and even suggests a particular bartender with ‘hair for days’. Cue epic meet-cute.

          Nicole and Waverly become “fast friends” and start to spend more time together. Nicole is smitten, but convinced that they can just be friends (we call that denial). Waverly is completely oblivious; both to Nicole’s feelings and her own. Girl. It is not normal to get lost in someone’s eyes or feel warmed by their smile. And no one blushes that much unless they’re crushing. Hard.

          Speaking of denial… Waverly is ignoring the impending deadline, forcing Wynonna to be the responsible sister. She suggests that Waverly marry Champ – it’s inevitable, right? Only, Waverly, Miss I-Love-Commitment-and-Structure-and-Routine, freaks out at the idea. Wynonna tries the tough love route and gives Waverly an ultimatum: find someone to marry, or I will.

          Nicole is her normal chivalrous self and sets the Champ break-up ball rolling. She brings Waverly a sandwich from her favorite shop “just because I noticed you haven’t eaten.” A shoulder rub short-circuits Nicole’s brain and Dolls is there to see it all.

          Wynonna and Waverly bond over shitty life experiences and the choices they’ve had taken away from them. Wynonna comes out as aromantic, and Waverly goes research crazy, creating Murder Wall 2.0.

          Then life, revenants and a witch get in the way. Waverly scissors a stripper. Nicole and Wynonna fight a baddie, putting one more in the ground. The sisters cope the Earp way, and get drunk off their asses. Waverly has a heart-to-heart with Nedley and finds out how much really cares. The gruff exterior falls away and Waverly get real, true advice from someone who plays dumb, but actually understands the curse.

 

* * *

 

          Waverly doesn’t pick someone by Wynonna’s deadline, so now she’s stuck waiting to see who Wyn picked. She was not expecting Nicole, why would she? And it’s definitely the shock of the whole thing that makes her heart stop and her words catch in her throat. If she could tear her eyes away from Nicole, she’d see Wynonna rolling her eyes. Friends my ass.

          The sisters relay as much of the story of the contract as possible, skipping the revenant part, of course. When Nicole finds out that she’s the loophole, she feels torn. She wants to help Waverly more than anything, but the idea of marrying her best friend (and staying just friends) breaks her heart. She runs, Waverly runs and Wynonna feels helpless.

 

* * *

 

          This time, it’s Nicole drunk off her ass at Shorty’s. Gus drops some truth bombs: everyone (except Waverly) knows that Nicole is head over heels in love with Waverly; no one (except Waverly) would be surprised if they heard the girls had eloped; and honesty was the only way she could hope to protect her heart.

 

          Doc becomes Waverly’s sounding board and she found herself confessing things she hadn’t even admitted to herself. The old man’s response to her confessions about her sexuality and feelings for Nicole is earth tilting. In one of the most profound sentences to ever come out of my brain: “It is peculiar that you could not handle the idea of marrying Champ, after being together for years, but are terrified of loosing Nicole after only a few weeks.”

 

* * *

          Regulars at Shorty’s bare witness to Nicole and Waverly’s flirting and the rumors come to light. The town people have been waiting for Nicole to make a move. Waverly finds out that everyone already thinks they’re dating; no one is going to be surprised when they suddenly get married (well, no one except Waverly and Nicole…) Wynonna is the tough-love older sister as she suggests that maybe Waverly won’t be pretending… 

          Nicole and Waverly talk, really talk. They hash out the details of their plan (and Nicole realizes she’s going to have to kiss Waverly). They come up with a proposal story that is boarder-line too cute to be believable, except that it’s Nicole… They decide to announce the engagement ASAP.

 

* * *

          Waverly gets an S.O.S. from Gus at Shorty’s: someone forgot to tell the people at Shorty’s that the entire local hockey league planned to celebrate Opening Day at the bar, and drunk, unhappy hockey players are not to be messed with. Waverly’s quick to jump behind the bar, while Nicole gets some honest, sincere and helpful advice from the cook while helping in the back.

          They update Gus on their story, the wedding details, etc and then she sends them off with a bottle of champagne to celebrate.

          The girls get nerdy and create a contract outlining their marriage expectations. (Waverly even includes the chores, because of course she does.)

 

          The next morning, breakfast at the dinner is filled with proposal stories and people gushing over the ring. As Nicole rushes off to work, she places a quick kiss on Waverly’s cheek, without even realizing what she was doing. The women (and Waverly) all swoon at the gesture. And Waverly’s big grin and blush only make it more convincing.

 

* * *

          Everything changes for Nicole on her walk through the town with Nedley. People are open and nearly everyone stops her with congratulations, and of course, advice and thinly veiled threats.

          Nicole bemoans the hoopla, and wishes they were past the wedding part and on to the married days; lazy weekend mornings, dinners cooked together… Nedley gets deep and tells her that that’s what Love is. He also encourages them to keep the wedding small and simple; and to do it quickly. He tells her to be sure before it’s too late; and, with more honesty than intended, Nicole tells him that she is.

 

* * *

          Waverly and Wynonna bond over whiskey and wedding planning. They create Murder Board 3.o: Wedding Edition.

 

          Waverly is worried that Nicole won’t want to elope; that she might want a big wedding with all the flowers and people and… but they very quickly figure out that they’re both on the same page. They decide to get married at Gus’ and to keep it small. Better to ask forgiveness later, right? It doesn’t take them long to settle the details and make a plan to go into the city for anything not found in Purgatory.

 

          Nicole finally reaches out to the few friends she keeps in touch with still, and surprisingly, her CO accepts; she won’t be standing alone up there after all.

 

* * *

 

          They all head into the city (even Doc because Nicole might need help, and she shouldn’t have to do it alone). With a cake picked, Waverly and Nicole were put in charge of the rings, while their friends set out to find decorations. AdorableWayHaughtTime™ ensues as they help each other pick out rings. But they’re not In Love…

          Nicole and Doc get fitted for suits. After all, Waverly will be wearing a dress, so Nicole should be in a suit, right?

          Pretty soon, Gus, Wynonna and Chrissy all had dresses. Waverly tried on a million dresses, before Wynonna found the winning dress. It was nothing like Waverly or the dress consultant had talked about, but it was perfect.

 

* * *

 

          Getting ready for the wedding kept everyone crazy busy, and Nicole feels a bit like a tornado. Even Waverly felt a little out of sorts, and she loved planning! Luckily, Dolls is on it and working hard to make their marriage legal (and convincing). He gets their wedding license signed (witnessed and notarized, because he’s nothing if not thorough). He also hands them an envelope with the last part they need to make it convincing. Waverly immediately recognizes what the hotel reservation means, but Nicole takes a little longer. It’s not until Waverly’s a few shots in that she can manage to explain that the hotel is not Dolls’ vacation plan, but their honeymoon. There were pages in the envelope outlining romantic gondola rides, expensive dinners and couple’s spa time. Waverly panics at the implication, but Nicole just sees the first part of the wedding that isn’t crazy and doesn’t suck just a little. They could both use a vacation.

 

* * *

 

          Nicole moves most of her belongings out to the homestead. Neither of the sisters have been able to stomach being in Ward’s room, but Nicole doesn’t have the same memories, so maybe this is a chance to finally move on; and Nicole can have a space of her own.

 

* * *

 

          Morgan (her CO) arrives for the wedding and Nicole can’t believe how relieved she is to have him there. They spend a long time catching up and, eventually, talking about what’s making Nicole so nervous. They talk until Nicole is sure she’s making the right decision about marrying Waverly. The suit though…

 

* * *

          Wynonna cons Waverly into a bachelorette party, complete with boob straws, if you’re so inclined. They even go as far as bringing both the bi and pan flags, but Waverly claims to be Nicole-sexual, because of course she is…

 

          After many drinks, the presents come out - including both things to wear and things to…use, on the honeymoon. You can guess what Wynonna brought, and just how much Waverly blushed. Her friends have way too much fun figuring out where the straps go.

 

          Then comes one of my favorite sisterly exchanges that I won’t bother trying to paraphrase:

> “I know your…arrangement is just to solve your problem, but that doesn’t mean your honeymoon can’t be fun.”
> 
> “Wynonna!” Waverly whispered. “You know it’s not like that.”
> 
> “But it could be…” Waverly glared at her with a hint of question in her eyes, so Wynonna went on. “Nicole is attractive enough, and totally gay, and you look at her with disgusting little heart eyes whenever she comes around in those jeans that hug her ass and those flannels that pull tight across her chest.”
> 
> Waverly’s shocked look had Wynonna chuckling.
> 
> “What? I’m straight, but not blind.”

Wynonna tells her to think about it, but really, how could she think of anything else?

 

* * *

          Poor little Nicole was caught just as unaware by her stag party. Doc, Dolls, the deputies, her little chess club buddies and a few other familiar faces were all waiting for them when they got to Shorty’s. Way too much whiskey and beer, plus ridiculous stag pun shirts should have been a disaster. But, while they were drunk, they weren’t sloppy and she knew she was going to remember every minute. There was a sweet speech and a few gifts and cards, filled with advice and money for their honeymoon. They even pitched in to get her a blazer nice enough to wear at the snooty restaurants that wouldn’t let you in with out one.

 

* * *

          They all go to Nedleys the night before the wedding. Wynonna gives a super sappy, honest toast, before reminding everyone that the Homestead has really thin walls.

 

* * *

 

          Sunday is the wedding day. It’s also the last time Nicole will wake up at her house. Not that any of her stuff was still there anyways. One minute Nicole was trying to figure out how she was going to waste the next four hours before she could head to Gus’, the next she was wondering how it could already be time. She spends the moments leading up to the wedding with Doc, Dolls, Morgan and Nedley. Their calm demeanors, crisp uniforms and loving speeches calmed her in a way she didn’t think possible.

 

* * *

          

Waverly spent the evening with Chrissy, Gus and Wynonna, and they helped her get ready that morning. Waverly couldn’t think of a better way to get ready for your wedding, than being surrounded by family and love.

 

* * *

          Before the wedding planning had really gotten underway, Nicole had asked Nedley to stand with her at the wedding (because he’s the closest thing she has to family). Now she stands with him and Morgan at the end of the isle. Doc walks Waverly down the isle and Waverly is floored by the sight of Nicole standing in her simple white dress. She was expecting a suit – had prepared herself for a suit. Neither woman was able to say anything more than “wow”.

 

* * *

 

          Gus officiates the ceremony; encouraging them to exchange vows and rings. 

          Their kiss barely lasted a moment, but seemed like an eternity.

 

          Then, blah, blah, blah, wedding photos. Blah, blah, blah, food and dancing... Emotions… a Deputy drives them to their hotel for the night.

 

* * *

          Nicole insists on carrying Waverly across the threshold, despite how drunk they both are, but she manages to be steady and sure. Drunken honesty creates a little bit of awkwardness as they both compliment each other’s dresses a little more honestly than they otherwise would. Nicole about dies trying to unbutton the back of Waverly’s dress; mini-Gay Panic. When Waverly lets the dress fall, Nicole see’s exactly what Waverly had been wearing underneath (thank you Chrissy!) Major-Gay Panic. As Waverly helps Nicole out of her dress, her eyes rake up and down Nicole’s body; no panic there. But Nicole quickly puts the breaks on, because drunken consent isn’t really consent…

 

* * *

          And then Willa shows up. Fucking WiIla. (Read chapter 19 if you want to remember how all that goes down.)

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I appreciate all of your comments and support on my Author's Note. How crazy is it that 
> 
> My original plan had been to delete the author’s note chapter, but the love and kind words seriously got me through the first few days there. I haven't been able to bring myself to respond to them (I'd still like to try some day soon), but know that I read every single one of them and they brought me tremendous comfort.
> 
> None of you know me and yet you were quick to reach out and send your love. That’s amazing. And I didn’t think I’d find it as comforting to have people I don’t know offering up condolences, but it definitely helped; brought a sense of peace and let me express my feelings without feeling like I’m burdening my family even more. 
> 
> The last couple of months have been really hard. I spent most of the week he was supposed to be traveling with me numb, and then overwhelmingly sad. But we had a wedding to celebrate, a bachelorette party for another and an adorable baby cousin to help us all move on. I've spent more time with my family in the last few months than I have in the last few years and we're all trying to focus on that silver lining.
> 
> I think I've finally gotten to the point where I can think about him or write about him without falling apart, which means that I'm ready to get back to this story. Believe it or not, but I actually only took about two weeks off of writing. But nothing I wrote was anything I'd post here. One of my other cousins introduced me to her friend that is working on a book about the craziness that is grieving. I don't know if any of what I wrote will end up in his book, but it was good for my heart either way. 
> 
> This is the first weekend I've had since August that I haven't been traveling. Relevant point because this is the first weekend where I will actually have the chance to write. I can't promise that I'll update this week, but the next chapter is already started, so it definitely won't be another two months.


	22. Chapter 20

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fucking Willa.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took soooooo long. There is a story behind it all (a super embarrassing story, not a tragic one) and I'll add it to the notes at the end. Good news is, the next chapter is one of my absolute favorites I've written. It's super fluffy and already way too long, but WayHaught Honeymoon!?!? I mean...
> 
> That chapter is about 80% done so it should be out within the week. I'll keep you updated on Twitter if you're interested (@cflynnrun).
> 
> Back to the story. A disclaimer:  
> I've always had an issue with Willa's story line; it all seemed super rushed and the Bobo thing was creepy. I'm taking a few liberties here, because while a lot of her actions during the first season matched the character (I totally believe she would shoot Nicole as payback for Waverly taking the gun), there were a few scenes that seemed a bit off. And I feel like she got the shit end of the stick with how the season ends. So I'm taking some fanfic liberties and some of that story line will change. This whole chapter is Wynonna and Willa, so you'll have to wait until next time for any WayHaught.

            Wynonna didn’t know what to think anymore. Fingerprints and DNA said that the woman standing in front of her was the sister she lost so many years ago. But Willa, Eve, didn’t remember who she was or how she got here. And Wynonna didn’t know what to say or do for her. So, she was doing what everyone was telling her, and bringing Eve home. According to doctors, the memories would come back eventually, but going to the Homestead might trigger the memories faster. So, here they were, in Gus’ truck, heading to the Homestead.

            Gus wanted to come in and help, but Wynonna made her stay outside. For once, Gus wasn’t the calm collected rational one. Wynonna opened the door and let her…sister, or whatever, look around. Eve, Willa, random cult chick, whoever she was, looked around in wonder.

             “Um… would you… would you like a tour?”

             She didn’t respond, just nodded. Wynonna sort of flapped her arms in exasperation and started walking.

             “Um… this is probably supposed to be a dinning room or whatever, but it’s where I sleep.”

             “Why?” Wynonna wasn’t expecting questions and she faltered for a moment.

             “Um… I guess - I guess it just seemed weird to sleep in your room or Daddy’s room. Waverly and I used to share, but it she deserved some privacy, you know.”

             Willa-Eve didn’t respond or acknowledge Wynonna, just picked up a shirt thrown over a chair in the corner, looked at it and set it back down on the pile. Then she turned and walked out the room, forcing Wynonna to jog to catch up.

             “What’s this room?”

             “Um. That’s Waverly’s room. We used to share it.”

             “It’s kind of drab.”

             Wynonna recoiled a bit. “We’ve only been here a few weeks. She used to live in town.” Willa looked at her questioningly. “Oh. Right! More info. Uh, she works at Shorty’s and used to live in an apartment up above.”

             “She’s a bartender?”

             “You remember Shorty’s?”

             “Yiska said it was a den of sin.”

             “Well, I don’t know about that, but they have a lot of whiskey, which is… good.” Wynonna felt the sudden (and familiar) urge to protect her little sister. “Waverly is also a consultant for the Sheriff’s department, where I work, well sort of, it’s complicated. But Waverly knows all these ancient languages, studied them in college, and like, _all_ the local history. She’s actually super important when we get trickier cases.”

             Willa-Eve looked unconvinced. She put the pillow she had picked up back on the bed and abruptly left the room. She walked to the next room and pulled open the door.

             “This was my room, wasn’t it?”

             “Yeah. You remember?”

             “No. You just said that the two of you shared a room. So this has to be mine.”

             “Right.” Wynonna waited in the doorway as Willa-Eve walked through the room, taking time to look at everything.

             “So this is where I’m staying?”

             “Yup. Well, if you want to, or whatever.”

             “Show me the rest.”

             “Right. Yeah. Ok.”

            The only room left was Daddy’s room; a room Wynonna tried to avoid as much as possible. When Willa-Eve opened the door, she surveyed the room. She didn’t walk around like she had in the other rooms, but just stood a few feet inside the room. She finally noticed the stacks of boxes in the far corner.

             “Is that his stuff?”

             “No. That’s, um, that’s Nicole’s stuff…”

             “Nicole?”

             Wynonna shifted nervously from foot to foot. “She’s Waverly’s…wife.” Willa looked somewhere between shocked and disgusted.

             “Our sister’s a… gay?”

             “She’s bisexual, I think. I don’t know really. She had this jag-off of a boyfriend for a long time, but when she met Nicole… Nicole’s good for her. Makes her happy, which is all you really want for your family, right.”

             Willa-Eve just sort of grunted. She looked back at the stack of boxes, running her hands across the labels on the side. “So she’s moving here? Why isn’t Waverly moving in with her?”

             “Oh, um… it’s complicated? When you get your memories back… it’s just safer here, really. And Nicole is good people. I sort of… _like_ having her around, which is weird because I don’t normally like cops…”

             “Aren’t you a cop?”

             “Sort of. Yeah. I guess. But Nicole is full on, uniform-wearing, gun-toting… badass.”

             “Why’s her stuff in here if she married Waverly?”

             Wynonna’s eyes went wide and she found herself scrambling for answers. “Um. You know how weddings are, right? Maybe… or not. Yeah, ok.” She couldn’t seem to stop rambling, but everything she said seemed to be wrong!

             “They were so busy planning, that Nicole didn’t have time to move in really. And they didn’t want to live together, before…”

             “So my little sister is a prude.”

             “What? No! People just talk in a small town, you know?”

             Another disapproving grunt.

             “And where is this mystery sister of mine?”

             “Oh, she, uh… Her and Nicole are on their honeymoon still. They got married the night the officers rescue – I mean found you. In the woods. Camp. Thing.”

             Willa-Eve seemed unhappy with that answer.

             “She’d be back here, except we have no way to get ahold of them, really…”

            Wynonna could tell that Willa-Eve was judging and found herself scrambling again. She seemed to be doing a lot of that lately. But she didn’t know if she could trust her will all the information yet.

             “They were going tech free for their honeymoon. It’s a whole thing now, apparently. They’re at this spa-hotel thing and they weren’t going to have service anyway, so they were going to leave their phones behind. Doc was going to try contacting the hotel, but if they’re out doing stuff, they might not be able to find them. Yet.”

             “Don’t ruin their honeymoon on my account. It’s not like I remember her anyways.” And with that, Willa walked out the door.

 

* * *

 

           Wynonna called to check in with Doc and Dolls. They were actually cooperating for once and both in the BBD office. Doc hadn’t been able to get ahold of the girls, but if Willa-Eve didn’t care, why rush them home? Or at least that’s what she told herself. But secretly, she was glad to have time with Willa-Eve on her own. Not that she didn’t love having Waverly around - she just didn’t want to share Willa-Eve.

           Dolls had been researching where Willa-Eve could have gone after The Seven dragged her off and what could have made her lose her memory so completely. But so far, nothing.

 

* * *

 

         Willa-Eve declared that she wanted to walk the land and Wynonna was too polite to try and talk her out of it and too scared to let her go alone. Despite Wynonna’s attempts to get Willa-Eve to talk, they mostly walked in silence, only speaking when Willa-Eve asked a question. She didn’t know why it was so awkward, but it probably had something to do with her sister not remembering her.

         The two walked the edge of the property; Willa-Eve walked slowly, running her hand along the fence. Wynonna couldn’t help but watch her as they walked; she kept expecting Willa-Eve to remember. She finally broke her silence as they walked back to the barn.

         “That’s where we used to hide out, you and me. Any time something happened, or Daddy was drunk and looking for a fight.”

         “But not Waverly?” Willa-Eve asked quietly.

         “Umm, no. Not usually. You didn’t really like Waverly hanging around. Said she was a baby and kicked her out when she tried to follow…”

         “I did that?” Willa-Eve asked sounding detached. She was still surveying the barn, walking through, occasionally stopping to pick something up.

         “Yeah, well… you were already 8 when she was born. You never really liked her though. Not sure why, you just always said she wasn’t one of us…”

         “I sound awful” Willa-Eve concluded, her voice just as monotone as it always was.

         Wynonna didn’t know how to respond, so she picked up a little wooden box that was obviously decorated by small children. “Maybe this will help you remember. We used to keep all our special belongings in here when we were little. I haven’t looked in here in forever…”

       The two spent the next hour pulling the items out of the box. Wynonna had a story or two for each thing stored in there, and Willa-Eve seemed content listening to each one.

 

* * *

 

           Doc and Dolls had hit a dead end. The cult hadn’t existed long enough to explain all of Willa’s absence. Doc had reached out to all of his contacts, but everyone genuinely believed her to be dead when she’d disappeared all those years before. They couldn’t really do anything more until Willa-Eve started to remember.

 

* * *

 

           The news of Willa-Eve returning to the Homestead spread like wildfire through the town. Everywhere Wynonna went, people asked about her sister. Wynonna wasn’t sure how to handle the questions and probably used a little too much sarcasm as a result. The first time she took Willa-Eve into town, it was like a celebrity was visiting. Everyone stopped and stared, trying to get a look, trying to see if it was really her.

           That first trip didn’t last very long. They barely made it through the grocery store before Willa-Eve was overwhelmed and asking to go home. They tried again the next day, heading to the diner instead. People were kind, but nosey and Wynonna could tell she was overwhelmed, but Willa-Eve lasted the entire meal. It was a strange position for Wynonna to be in: carrying the conversations. Willa-Eve didn’t talk much, but even when she did, it was brief and curt. Normally, Wynonna was the one lacking in social skills, her conversations being carried along by Waverly.

             For the first time since Willa-Eve had come back, Wynonna wished Waverly were here to help. She’d selfishly wanted to keep Willa to herself for a little bit, but she was in over her head. Nicole would probably know exactly what to do to help Willa-Eve get her memories back. And if not, Waverly would know exactly where to find the right information; know exactly the right book. For being a lone wolf, she’d come to rely a lot on the people around her.

 

* * *

 

           Willa has been back for three days and Wynonna is out of ideas. Waverly and Nicole won’t be back for another day or so (Wynonna should probably know when their honeymoon is supposed to be over). There were two things that Earps are good at that she hasn’t tried yet: drinking and shooting. If neither of those trigger memories, Wynonna doesn’t know what will.

 

           Wynonna left Willa-Eve at the Homestead while she went to check in with Doc and Dolls. She was meditating or some shit so she didn’t feel too bad about ditching her. The whiskey and extra ammo she picked up along the way, were her last ditch effort to help Willa-Eve…just become Willa.

           She dragged her reluctant sister to their spot along the fence line that had long ago been designated the makeshift shooting range. It took coaxing and a little guilt to get Willa-Eve to take her first swig out of the bottle. Wynonna followed with a swig of her own before pulling out Peacemaker.

           “Daddy used to bring you out here a lot. I always wanted to come too, but you…well, whether or not you remember it, you’re the heir.” She took another swig, before checking to see if all the chambers were loaded. “He had you out here all the time shooting at targets and you were good, too. Not like me…”

           She turns towards the fence and shoots at the cans and cards sitting along the top. She manages to hit them all, but only barely. She grunts and dumps the casings out, loading the gun again. She takes the bottle back from her sister, before taking a big swig of the whiskey. She thrusts it back in Willa-Eve’s hands and goes to reset the targets. When she returns, a third of the bottle is gone and Willa-Eve’s face has the closest thing to a smile on it as Wynonna’s seen so far. She hands her Peacemakers and pushes her closer to the targets. Wynonna steps back with the whiskey and waits for her to shoot. Willa-Eve studies the gun in her hand, and then hesitantly points it toward the targets. She pulls the trigger once, squeezing her eyes shut as she fires. The bullet is wildly off target and she looks like she’s about to turn and run. Wynonna gives her an encouraging look and she slowly turns back towards the target and fires again. This time she manages to keep her eyes open and her arms mostly steady – only missing the target by a few centimeters. Almost as soon as she fires, she gasps and drops the gun.

           “What’s wrong? What happened?”

           “I – I remembered something.” She looks around and slowly continues. “I remember being out here with someone, Daddy maybe? And he was yelling. Telling me I had to get it right, I had to be the one to stop them, to protect our family. He kept saying I was the heir – that they were going to come for us…”

           Wynonna waited for the gears to stop turning in Willa-Eve’s head before asking, “So you remember it? You remember everything?”

           “Not everything. Not yet.”

 

* * *

 

             The target shooting hadn’t lasted too much longer, but the drinking definitely did. For living clean and sober for so many years, Willa-Eve could drink! She matched Wynonna drink for drink all night, even after they had made their way to Shorty’s.

             Drinking might be hereditary, but pool was not. Wynonna spent an hour teaching Willa-Eve to be not terrible at pool, but she wasn’t going to beat Wynonna or Waverly any time soon. The more Willa-Eve drank, the calmer she looked. There was genuine laughter and happiness, and Wynonna felt happier herself than she had been in ages. Well, Waverly and Nicole’s wedding was a pretty fucking happy moment too…

             In the back of her mind, she knew she really needed to get ahold of them before they made it back. They deserved to hear about Willa…Eve from her. And they needed to be ready. Their plan to be a couple in public and just friends at the Homestead wasn’t going to work anymore. Willa-Eve was far too skeptical to fool easily and too naïve to be looped in on all the revenant, marriage contract non-sense. Waverly and Nicole were going to have to step it up if this plan wasn’t going to fail. They were going to have to make Willa-Eve believe they were in love.

 

 

_Call me ASAP_

_Shits going down_

_Fucking understatement_

_Just call me_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, story time. I was originally writing the Willa/Wynonna scenes and the honeymoon scenes as one chapter, alternating back and forth. I was about 3/4 of the way done when I lost my flashdrive. I about lost my shit because this entire story was on it, along with the note I have for the rest of the chapters/end of the story. (It also had one-shots from my June writing along with a few short stories that I'll post as soon as I can proof read them). Basically, the flashdrive has about a year and a half worth of writing, include things I haven't posted yet. And I'm an idiot that didn't have it backed up anywhere else since I've been writing this all on a shared computer and didn't want to save anything there. (I've since remedied this, don't worry, I learn from dumb mistakes). Anyways, this was like 2.5-3 weeks ago. I tore apart my car, my house, my office... After about a week, I finally gave up on finding it and started rewriting everything, the best I could. That's when I separated the two chapters out, I really wasn't looking forward to rewriting all the honeymoon stuff, because I was so happy with what I'd had. 
> 
> Fast forward a few days, and I've written most of this chapter. I go to rehearsal (I play in an orchestra in my town, nothing fancy, but it keeps me sane) and our first chair flutist holds up my flashdrive. I'd had it attached to my keys, along with a shark-shaped bottle opener, carabiner and drum key, but somewhere during set-up or take down of our last concert, the carabiner caught on something and broke. The keys were in my pocket but everything else ended up on the ground. I was too busy/exhausted to notice it was all gone before I left. To end this story before it becomes a chapter of it's own, I got a lot of flack from my conductor for being as ADHD as normal (I've been playing with her since I was 10 in various groups so she's kind of like an annoying older sister or aunt at this point), but I got the drive back. The flutist saved the honeymoon chapter!


	23. Chapter 21

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Honeymoon, Part 1.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys. This is ridiculous fluff. Just. Prepare yourselves.

           Waverly woke up warm and cozy and way less hung over than she expected. She also woke up gripping a moving pillow. Her first thought was Champ, but this wiggling body was a lot softer than his ever was. When she peaked open her eyes, a peacefully sleeping Nicole greeted her. Waverly’s first instinct was to pull away and try to move back to her side of the bed, but strong arms just pulled her closer.

             “Too early Waves. Go back to sleep.”

           So Waverly did.

 

* * *

 

           When Waverly woke again, there was bright light coming in through the curtains and muffled voices in the hall. She knew she should probably get up and see what was going on, but the bed was so soft…

           Just as Waverly was dozing off again, the door slowly opened. Nicole peaked her head in the door and smiled when she saw Waverly’s eyes open.

           “Where’d you go? I miss my pillow.” Waverly mumbled stretching and rolling over to face Nicole. Nicole chuckled and stepped into the room.

            “Getting breakfast for my wife, of course.” She laughed when Waverly perked her head up. She walked over and sat the tray on the bed. Waverly scooted to sit against the headboard, eagerly eying the coffee and pastries on the tray. She patted next to her and Nicole quickly moved to sit in the spot. They sat shoulder to shoulder so they could share the tray.

           The next 15 minutes were spent in relative quiet; they spoke only to ask for something to be passed, or to praise the breakfast. Waverly could feel herself slowly waking up, and by the time the food was gone, she was practically bouncing.

           “Note to self: feed Waverly first thing in the morning.”

           Waverly laughed. “I’m a morning person, really. I just need coffee before I’m willing to speak. It’s about the only time I’m quiet, really.”

           Nicole chuckled and raised her coffee cup. “Well then. To our first day as Wives and a life time of learning new things about each other.” Waverly clinked her glass against Nicole’s, with a bashful smile. Their eyes locked and stayed that way as they drank. Waverly could feel herself blushing and quickly turned away.

           “Well, I… I should probably, should probably, um, shower…” Waverly was scrambling to get off the bed before Nicole noticed she was blushing again. But she knew it was probably futile; Nicole was way too observant to have missed that.

 

* * *

 

           Once they had both showered and packed up their stuff, they headed off for the resort they’d be staying at for the rest of their honeymoon. Check in wasn’t until later in the afternoon, so they agreed to stop for a hike and a picnic along the way. Waverly was awestruck the entire drive and Nicole couldn’t help but find it super adorable. She forgot how little of the world outside of Purgatory Waverly had actually seen. So even though it added an extra three or so hours to their trip, Nicole happily stopped at every Vista Point along the way; every famous landmark; every cute little town. She wanted to be annoyed at how often they were stopping and how long the journey was taking, but she couldn’t; Waverly was just so happy and her enthusiasm was contagious.

 

* * *

 

           When they finally arrived, it was after four, and both women were ready to be out of the car. They were greeted with warm smiles and a complimentary glass of champagne. (As soon as the concierge had turned around, Waverly looked at Nicole with wide eyes and a huge grin. Her little happy dance was probably the cutest thing Nicole had ever seen.)

           They were led to a beautiful suite with a gorgeous view of the mountains. Waverly was awestruck (again) as she looked around the room. The door from the hall opened into a combination living room-kitchen about the size of her bedroom back home. There was a door off to the left that led to the large washroom with a huge tub that Waverly was definitely going to try before they left. The other door led to the room with the bed Nicole was currently lounging on. She shook her head at the sight of Nicole sprawled out across the giant bed.

           “What? I just needed to make sure it was comfortable enough.” They both laughed as Nicole crawled off the giant bed. The bell boy had finished unloading their bags and hanging up the garment bags, even taking the time to hang the coats they had both laid over the back of one of the chairs. Nicole tipped him on his way out, before closing and locking the door. She picked the itinerary up off the table and glanced at their schedule for the next few days.

           “We have three hours before the ‘romantic gondola ride to the top of the mountain peak’ ” Nicole shook her head at the cheesy description, but she was secretly thrilled as she looked over the menu for their four course meal. “I’m thinking a quick walk around the grounds, a nap and then breaking out my new blazer. What about you?”

           Waverly looked longingly at the tub and Nicole laughed. “You don’t have to come with! I’ll scope out a good trail for our picnic. You go, enjoy the giant tub.” She laughed again as she ushered Waverly towards the bathroom. “We can survive being apart for an hour or so.”

           Waverly didn’t take much convincing and soon she was submerged in warm sudsy water up to her shoulders.

 

* * *

 

           Nicole wandered the grounds for about 30 minutes. She must have passed half a dozen couples along the way, all giving her a weird look. She had about made it back when the bellboy from before called out to her. “Need a break from each other already?” Nicole laughed along with him and the doorman as she walked closer.

           “Just trying to scope out a good spot for a romantic picnic while the Mrs. is getting ready for dinner.”

           They both chuckled, and gave suggestions for the perfect picnic location.

 

* * *

 

           The gondola ride was definitely romantic. Although part of that could be that they spent the entire time tangled up together. Waverly insisted on looking out the window as they traveled up the mountain, but she was also learning that she was terrified of heights. How someone could go 21 years without knowing they were afraid of heights was beyond Nicole, but Waverly did point out that there were no buildings with more than three or four floors in the whole of purgatory. Nicole kept trying to pull her away from the windows to the seats near the middle, but Waverly didn’t want to miss a second. So Nicole just held on tightly and whispered calming words every time the car bumped or Waverly looked down. Nicole couldn’t imagine a better feeling than being wrapped up with Waverly, watching the joy on her face, feeling the squeals of laughter and happiness travel through her chest. She could almost forget for a moment that this wasn’t real.

 

* * *

 

           The restaurant was beautiful and Nicole… Waverly hadn’t seen what she was wearing before they left. Nicole was ready and waiting by the time Waverly was done, and already bundled into her winter coat. To say that Waverly reveled in Nicole’s quiet “wow” and dropped jaw was an understatement. She couldn’t remember the last time someone complimented her with such sincerity (or without some sexual joke or innuendo). She giggled as she did a little turn, showing off the dress that Chrissy had helped her pick out for this exactly situation. She hadn’t been sure about the deep maroon dress the first time she saw it, but Chrissy had insisted that she could pull off the deep V in the front, and she had to admit that the fitted waist was very flattering. It wasn’t often that Nicole was speechless, and it definitely made all the time and effort worth it.

           Now, though, the tables had turned. Nicole was wearing tight, dark-green trousers, with an off-white silk blouse and a suit jacket that seemed tailored to her body. The skinny tie she had matched her trousers and the tiny, polka dotted pocket square. What normally looked so pretentious and would make Waverly roll her eyes (who wears pocket squares?) just seemed adorable on Nicole. Waverly was so wrapped up in Nicole that she didn’t hear the man asking to take her coat until he was already moving to slide the coat off her shoulders. She managed to recover well enough to offer him a smile as he handed Nicole their ticket.

           She followed the man to their table, her breath hitching as she felt Nicole’s hand on the small of her back. She couldn’t help the shy smile that snuck across her face. She met the eyes of an older lady as they walked along and blushed at the knowing smile on her face. They were sat at a table overlooking the valley below. Before they even had a chance to look at the menu, they were being handed glasses of champagne, the bottle left behind at the table. The idea of sharing an entire bottle with Nicole was exciting and terrifying all at the same time. Earps were known for drinking whiskey like it was water, but wine was completely different; she was a bit of a lightweight.

 

* * *

 

           The food was possibly the best she had ever had and she’s pretty sure that’s only partially because of her current buzz. She had the best view in the house, but she kept getting lost in Nicole’s eyes and forgetting to look out the window. She couldn’t ignore her crush any more; not now that she was sitting in the most romantic spot she’d even been, waxing poetic about Nicole’s eyes and feeling so overwhelmingly happy whenever Nicole threw a smile her way. She was a giant gay mess (if she was even gay; she was starting to think Nicole-sexual might actually be her true identity).

           They agreed to both pick different desserts. There was so much chocolate that she thought she might have died and going to heaven. And then Nicole fed her a bite of her dessert and she knew she had.

           Nicole was faring about as well as Waverly. She about died as she watched Waverly take the bite from her fork; and Waverly honest to God _moaned_ as she tasted it. The woman was going to kill her! The red tint to Waverly’s cheeks made Nicole think that maybe she was as tipsy as Nicole felt. She wasn’t sure when the last time she’d been this happy (well other than the wedding…) To quote one of the classic movies of our era, she was “too gay to function!”

           She glanced over at the table next to them and instantly blushed at their knowing looks. The couple was slightly older and seemed to be celebrating something, probably an anniversary. The man smiled and nodded at her, so she nodded back; her blush spreading. As they left, Waverly’s hand found hers and she leaned into Nicole’s side, shivering slightly. Nicole pulled off her scarf and wrapped it around Waverly’s neck, before grabbing her hand again. They walked in peaceful silence back to the gondola and stepped into the empty car. Waverly went to stand by the window and Nicole wrapped her up from behind. When Waverly smiled up at her, she smiled back, and then pulled her closer, just trying to enjoy the moment.

 

* * *

 

           When they got back to their room, there was another bottle of champagne waiting for them. They didn’t plan on finishing the whole bottle, but they started talking and the hours passed quickly. Before they knew it, it was after one o’clock and the bottle was completely empty. Nicole had ditched the jacket hours ago, nearly as soon as they got back in the room, and her tie was loose around her neck. She had rolled the sleeves up and Waverly could see how strong and defined the muscles in her arms were.

           Waverly had stayed in her dress (it was remarkably comfortable, or maybe she was too tipsy to care) and every time moved around on the couch, Nicole saw just a hint of cleavage. It wasn’t anything scandalous, she knew she’d see more if Waverly was wearing a bathing suit, but while her brain might be logical, the rest of her wasn’t. She got thirsty every time she thought about what the dress covering (in more ways than one) and found her glass of champagne disappearing rather quickly. Her brain was getting less and less logical, and comments were sillier and sillier, but Waverly didn’t seem to mind. In fact, she matched Nicole drink for drink.

            When Waverly yawned for the third time in less than five minutes, they decided to head to bed. It was huge and soft, and neither could wait to sink into it. Nicole wore her usual flannel bottoms and tank top and when she turned her back to Waverly to close the blinds, all her muscles were on display. They were defined enough that Waverly could name them all as she raked her eyes down her body; trapezius, deltoid, triceps…

           Waverly’s outfit was no less distracting. Nicole knew her shorts had to be leftover from her cheerleading days, because volleyball players were the only other people that wore shorts that short. She quickly turned off the light and slipped into bed.

           “Good night Waves” she whispered to the dark.

           “Night Nic.”

 

* * *

 

           They woke up tangled again, neither minding too much. Waverly stretched and rubbed her eyes as Nicole slipped out of bed. She decided that five more minutes in heaven wouldn’t hurt anybody, and slipped back under the comforter. She hadn’t realized that she fell back asleep until she heard Nicole quietly calling her name. As she opened her eyes, she noticed the breakfast cart that had been wheeled in while she was sleeping.

           “Breakfast in bed again?” Waverly asked as she moved to sit against the headboard. “A girl could get used to this.”

           “Turns out the hotel will send up food when ever we want it.” Nicole doctored Waverly’s coffee just the way she liked it before fixing her own. Waverly sighed into her mug. “I think this is what heaven feels like.”

           Nicole laughed and uncovered the plates on the cart. “I wasn’t sure what you wanted, so I got us a few options.”

 

           When they had finished eating, Nicole crawled out of the giant bed and wheeled the cart into the hall. When she came back, Waverly had slipped down below the covers again. “You gonna get out of bed lazy bones?”

           Waverly answered, but her head was under the thick comforter, and Nicole couldn’t understand what she said. She pulled the covers back and Waverly whined and tried to cover herself up. Nicole laughed and sat back down next to her. After a minute or two, Waverly poked her head out and asked, “do we have to get out of bed today?”

           “Actually,” Nicole said, grabbing the papers off the nightstand. “Today is our spa day.” Waverly rolled over to face her with wide, excited eyes. Nicole laughed and continued, “The person that brought our breakfast also brought our daily schedule. Apparently that’s a thing they do when you stay somewhere fancy. I mean, I guess. I wouldn’t know…” Now Nicole was rambling.

           “Um… looks like we have about an hour and a half before we have anything scheduled. I think they left a list of suggested free time activities somewhere…” Nicole stepped just outside the bedroom where she had left the paperwork and scrambled to find the brochure she had been looking at earlier. Waverly reluctantly followed her out.

             “Oh. Here! You can look through that, if you want. I kind of glanced through it while I was waiting for the food.” Waverly took the brochure and started flipping through it, so Nicole looked back at the schedule.

           “Um… 10:30 we have a private bath scheduled… not sure what that means…”

           Waverly didn’t look up as she answered, “It’s like a small private pool. Usually, suits are optional.”

           Nicole’s eyes went wide at the idea of being naked in a pool with Waverly, but Waverly seemed unaware of what she’d said. Nicole cleared her throat awkwardly and tried to hide her blush behind the page. But she didn’t need to worry; Waverly was too focused on the brochure in her hands. Nicole continued reading off their schedule.

           “Right. So that’s from 10:30-11:00. Then there’s the hour long couple’s massage, which actually sounds really nice…”

           Waverly practically groaned at the thought. “God, that sounds good. I’m so tense.” She looked up at Nicole with a smile and Nicole could feel herself unconsciously smiling back. She probably looked a Waverly a beat too long, but Waverly didn’t seem bothered. She turned back to the schedule.

           “After the massage, looks like there’s… a picnic lunch. We can… we can either sit out on the lawn or bring it back to the room.”

            “Why would anyone bring it back to the room? The pictures of the lawn look incredible! I can’t imagine wanting to eat inside unless it was raining.”

           “Or you wanted to spend more time in bed.”

           “Naps are nice – oh! Right. Honeymoon. Right. Yeah…”

           Nicole chuckled, but decided to put Waverly out of her misery. “Looks like there’s an hour and a half scheduled for lunch, so we could probably take a walk around the grounds after.”

           “That sounds nice.”

           “Then there’s something about mud and champagne…”

           “Mud baths!?” Waverly leaned into Nicole’s side to see the schedule.

           “I guess?” She was confused, but Waverly seemed excited. “There’s a bunch of other spa stuff too, but I don’t really know what any of it is…”

           “It’ll be a surprise then!” Waverly looked back at the brochure, finding a list of spa activities and reading the descriptions to Nicole. It all sounded bizarre and uncomfortable, but Waverly seemed excited so it would probably be fun? The only things left on the schedule were dinner in the fancy restaurant located on the top floor, and time in one of the rooftop, private hot tubs. _That_ was something Nicole _knew_ she’d enjoy.

 

* * *

 

           They agreed to wear suits for the private bath. Nicole knew that most of the couples probably took advantage of the privacy (and the faint smell of bleach hiding under the soothing scents being pumped in was the only reason Nicole was reasonably comfortable climbing into the pool). The “bath” was really a small pool, similar to the hot tubs you sometimes find at hotels. But the temperature wasn’t nearly as warm as a hot tub; it was obviously designed for people to spend an extended period of time in. And there wasn’t any salt or chlorine, just an array of bath soaps on the shelf next to the tub. Waverly picked a citrus blend as Nicole sank into the water. Soon, the light jets in the tub had turn the soap into suds. Nicole felt a bit like a child again. And the way Waverly squealed when she blew bubbles her way warmed her heart. She’s not sure when it happened, but the two had gotten comfortable around each other; comfortable enough that sharing a tub didn’t seem as uncomfortable as she had originally imagined.

           Time passed quickly in the bath and when the spa attendant knocked lightly at the door, telling them to wrap up their bath time, they were both extremely relaxed. Which turned out to be a good thing when they were ushered into a room with two massage beds and asked to strip and slide under the sheets. If Nicole hadn’t spent the last half hour essentially meditating, she probably would have panicked. But Waverly just giggled and stood in between the two beds facing away from Nicole. She peaked over her shoulder and raised her eyebrow at Nicole. Nicole quickly turned away and cleared her throat, feeling better when she heard Waverly chuckle. They silently slipped under the sheets, quickly covering themselves. Nicole looked over only to meet Waverly’s eyes. They both spontaneously laughed at the ridiculousness of the situation.

 

* * *

 

           Nicole decided that she really liked this massage thing. She was going to have to find a place in Purgatory to go, because this was amazing. Judging by the quiet sighs and moans coming from Waverly, she was enjoying it too. Nicole had to work really hard to focus on her own massage and not get distracted by Waverly’s noises. This was particularly difficult when the masseuse’s hands felt _so_ good. Her body was a weird mix of relaxed and buzzing. She was fairly certain that Waverly’s sounds were going to haunt her dreams.

           When they left the room, there was someone waiting for them, picnic basket in hand. After a brief conversation about possible spots, they set off to find the grove of trees along the pond that he had described.

* * *

 

           Their picnic was like something out of a romcom or cheesy romance novel. They laid out a blanket in the shade and took turns feeding each other bites of their food. They sipped on something bubbly and giggled more than Nicole would ever admit. They talked about nothing, but it felt like everything. Every little detail, Nicole soaked up, stored away. She knew something had changed between them since their wedding, but she didn’t know what. She hoped that Waverly’s feelings were similar to hers, but she knew not to hope too much; who wouldn’t feel just a little bit in love at a place like this.

           Waverly felt giddy; a combination of relaxing spa day, sparkling wine and… Nicole. The last few days had made her feelings more and more clear. She was falling deeper and deeper, and while that would normally scare her, she felt safe here with Nicole. Right now, in this bubble, she could admit that she wasn’t straight and that Nicole wasn’t just her friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I seriously loved writing this. Loved writing it so much, it was suddenly 6,000 words and I still had scenes I wanted to add. So one chapter turned into two... And we'll see how long that lasts. I know we need to get back to the story soon. Willa, revenants, drama... it's not going to wait forever, you know? But I just want to enjoy the fluffy times a little bit longer.
> 
> Believe it or not, our story is actually 2/3 done! The chapter count might change if I keep getting side tracked by the hopeless gays, but man have we come a long way. Thanks for hanging in with me. I promise I will finish this! 
> 
> It's been almost 6 months since I posted this story, but I've been writing it for nearly 7 months now. That feels crazy to me! What's even crazier is that some of you read this story within the first few days and are still here now! I can't believe that this little story has almost 100 people subscribed! You guys rock. This story was definitely a bigger undertaking that I expected (I thought I could wrap up this story in 12 chapters...) and it has confirmed that I'm much better at writing one-shots and 2-3 chapter stories, but it's been so much fun.


	24. Chapter 22

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Honeymoon: part 2.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No sad story about why this chapter is late, just pure writer's block. I finished 90% of the chapter, got stuck, and skipped to the next chapter, which I managed to completely finish before I went back to this chapter. 
> 
> As with before, there's just so much gay fluff. But this time there's some gay panic thrown in and just a hit of angst. Honestly, this is probably the lustiest chapter I have written for this story. 
> 
> This story is about to pick up after this chapter; only 5 or 6 more chapters until we've reached the end, and we still have a whole lot left to resolve.

           The rest of the spa day was a blur. Nicole was poked and prodded and slathered and she’s fairly certain that more people have seen her naked today than in the last year. Not the person she’d like to be naked with though…

           Waverly’s excitement and enthusiasm through the whole day made Nicole’s heart swell. Most of the different treatments were weird and a bit out of her normal comfort zone, but any time she started feeling uncomfortable she’d look at Waverly and find comfort in her smile. It was becoming more and more apparent that Nicole would do anything for Waverly; even wear bright pink polish, because “it’s so cute! And it would look _sooo_ good with you complexion. You _have_ to get it Nicole!” And who can say no to excited Waverly?

 

* * *

 

 

           Their dinner that evening was far more casual, but Nicole really loved her blazer and was determined to wear it as much as possible. She wore it over a silky t-shirt and colorful jeans. And maybe it was wishful thinking, but she was pretty sure she saw hunger in Waverly’s eyes. She’d been told this was a pretty hot look on her, but did Waverly think so? Waverly was gorgeous, as always, in a flowy emerald dress. Nicole caught herself staring more than once, and prayed Waverly didn’t notice.

           They sat in the dimly lit restaurant along the top floor, sipping still wine this time, but the effect was the same as the night before. Nicole was giddy and Waverly was breathtaking in the low light. Nicole could almost imagine that it was all real; the bashful smiles, the simple touches… They walked back to their room after dinner, arm in arm, laughing and smiling the whole way. They’d had such a good time at dinner that Nicole hadn’t had time to worry about what came next. But as soon as they crossed the threshold into their room, Waverly was skipping off to find her bathing suit and Nicole was suddenly hit with nerves. Waverly in a bathing suit. Her in a bathing suit _with_ Waverly…Nicole gulped and tried not to panic; _now was not the time for gay panic_! She carefully changed into her own suit and wrapped one of the big fluffy robes around herself. Waverly came bouncing out of the bathroom in her own fluffy robe, looking like she had been nearly swallowed by terrycloth.

           Waverly was practically bouncing as she rambled on about this or that, but Nicole was desperately trying to calm her heart. They arrived at the hot tub to find the small room completely steamed up, champagne chilling off to the side and a small balcony jutting out the side of the building. Waverly headed straight for the tub, hanging her robe up off to the side. Nicole gulped as she slipped out of her own robe and went to hang it up next to Waverly’s. As Waverly stepped into the tub, she honest to God _moaned_ and Nicole most definitely _did not_ trip over her sandals. She had to pause to steady herself, gripping the hand bar along the steps of the tub. She decided against getting in and made an abrupt turn towards the drinks. “Uh –“ she cleared her voice and tried again. “Would you like a drink? There’s champagne and couple of different fancy waters…” Nicole looked over her shoulder to see Waverly peaking over the edge of the tub. “Would it be too much to ask for wine and water?” Nicole just shook her head and turned back to pour.

 

           Waverly was trying not to stare, but Nicole in a bathing suit was more than a little distracting. She knew Nicole had long legs, but with everything on display… Waverly sighed and tried to wipe the silly grin off her face. But, honestly, she was too busy enjoying the view. She’d only ever seen a hint of Nicole’s muscles under her vest, but now she could trace the lines with her eyes: through her shoulders, down her back, along her thighs, down her arms… She had to work hard to keep her mind from wandering to what it would be like to trace them with her hand. Or her tongue…

           If Waverly thought it would get easier once Nicole turned, she was very mistaken. She had never really noticed Nicole’s chest before, didn’t really think she was particularly… well endowed, but she had also never seen her with any sort of cleavage, so it’s understandable that she was terribly mistaken. She was trying not to be crass, like the men at Shorty’s that would stare or look at her up and down, but she was very suddenly starting to understand the appeal of breasts. Especially when Nicole leaned down to hand Waverly her drinks and everything threatened to spill out. Waverly vaguely remembers responding to Nicole, but she can’t for the life of her remember what it was that she said.

          

           There was no denying that Waverly had just checked her out. She wasn’t even remotely subtle as she stared right at Nicole’s chest as she bent down. And Nicole was pretty sure she could feel Waverly’s eyes on her ass as she walked back to the drinks. She poured herself a glass and quickly downed it. It had to be all the wine, right? Waverly wasn’t attracted to her; she couldn’t be.

           Nicole quickly grabbed drinks and walked back to the hot tub. She found herself sighing as she stepped into the warm water. She rolled her shoulders a few times and then stretched her neck before settling into the water.

 

           They floated around without speaking much for a good ten minutes or so before Waverly stood and walked out of the water. “I’m a little overheated, I think I’m going to step outside for a moment.” Nicole watched as she walked away, thankful for the break from her swirling thoughts. She took a few deep breaths before following Waverly out on to the balcony. Waverly was leaning against the railing, staring out over the grounds. She didn’t turn around as she spoke, “It’s beautiful. This whole place has been amazing.” She turned towards Nicole. “Thank you.”

           “For what?”

          “Just being you, I guess. I don’t know. The last couple of days have been so great. It’s the first time I’ve been anything other than an Earp.” She turned back towards the railing. “It’s just been really nice to be just Waverly.”

           “Well, I happen to be very fond of Just-Waverly, though I’m fond of Waverly Earp too.” Waverly smiled over her shoulder, her face showing a slight blush (from her comment or the hot tub, Nicole couldn’t be sure). Nicole spoke again after a moment. “I’m really glad we got to do this.”

           When Waverly spoke again, it was only a whisper, sent to the trees. “Me too.” She stood looking at the trees for another moment, before turning back towards Nicole. “Thank you for going along with this all. I can’t imagine doing this with anyone else. And you’ve been such a good sport the last couple of day.”

           “You know I would do anything for you.”

           “I know.” Waverly stood up on her tiptoes and placed a gentle kiss to Nicole’s cheek. “And I would for you too,” she said as a whisper, her hand lingering in the spot she had placed it on Nicole’s chest. She walked back into the room, sliding back into the tub. Nicole stood there frozen, hand brushing the spot Waverly had kissed; her breath shaky and shallow. Something so simple, suddenly felt huge; like something had changed between them in that moment. Nicole looked up at the stars and blinked her tears away, before turning back towards the hot tub.

 

* * *

 

           The rest of their time in the hot tub consisted of conversation bordering on flirtation and contact that could almost be called cuddling. While Nicole liked to sit in one spot and sink into the jets, Waverly enjoyed floating along the top of the water, letting the current carry her. This resulted in Waverly very nearly floating into Nicole’s lap more than once. They went back and forth between the water and the balcony several more times before they finally climbed out for good and wrapped themselves back in their robes. Somewhere during their evening, they had gotten far more comfortable with physical contact, and it seemed normal when Waverly linked her fingers with Nicole’s. It didn’t stop either of their hearts from racing though. And if either of them had glanced over, instead of looking straight ahead, they would have seen matching bashful smiles.

           Nicole squeezed Waverly’s hand gently and Waverly leaned into her side. It all seemed so domestic and… perfect. Nicole wished it was real and decided that, just for a moment, she might just pretend it was. They didn’t speak anymore as the walked back to their suite, but it was a peaceful, companionable silence. They got ready for bed, side-by-side, laughing at each other as they brushed their teeth, foam running down their chins.

           As they crawled between the sheets, they both shivered; the temperature had dropped in their room while they were gone. Without saying a word, Waverly moved closer to Nicole, leaning into her side. Nicole settled on her back, sliding her arm under Waverly, who snuggled in even closer. They fell asleep like that, Waverly’s head resting on her chest, Nicole’s heartbeat lulling her to sleep.

 

* * *

 

         

           The sun woke them the next morning, later than they had woken since they arrived. They found their daily schedule slipped under the door and happily noticed that there was nothing on their schedule until after lunch (although there were many optional suggestions). Both were happy to crawl back under the covers with a book and more room service. After ordering brunch, the two determined not to leave again until it was time to leave for lunch. The schedule told them it was more of a “high tea” which (unfortunately) meant they’d have to take showers before leaving. What they were both looking forward to was their dinner that evening. They had signed up to do a couples’ cooking class together, and had been surprised to realize that, although they both enjoyed cooking, they had never cooked anything together.

 

           High tea was everything Nicole imagined it to be. As in: uptight, unnecessarily fancy, with tiny amounts of strange foods (who thinks that cucumbers should be the main topping on a sandwich?). The plates and cups were so fancy, Nicole spent the whole time worrying about breaking something. And she half expected someone to come correct her posture at any moment; or comment on the way she held the cup or stirred her tea or something else equally as silly. But Waverly was so happy and excited and actually, seemed at ease in the fancy setting that had Nicole soon edge. And as much as Nicole might deny it (mostly just to herself), she was beyond whipped and would sit through a thousand of these just to be with Waverly. She really hated that term though, “whipped”, because it implied that being hopelessly in love was a bad thing. But with all the discomfort Nicole was hiding so Waverly could enjoy the tea, she knew that she had reached that point. Hopelessly in love was right though. It was hopeless and one-sided and _damn_ , that sigh was _not_ just in her head… Waverly glanced over with a questioning look, but Nicole just smiled (or tried to, it might have been more of a grimace) and sipped on her tea. It was going to be a long hour.

 

           Waverly, on the other hand, was in pure heaven. The tea was perfectly brewed; the china was nicer than anything she’d ever held before; and the sandwiches were tiny and cute, and doesn’t that just make them taste that much better? She loved the little details on the tables, and the character the miss-matched china gave the room; everyone had their own unique place setting, adding color and charm to each table. She could feel herself practically bouncing as she talked with the other woman at their table. Her husband had the same look on his face as the look Nicole was trying, but failing, to hide. At one point, Nicole excused herself to get more tiny sandwiches and Norman (Tracy’s husband) jumped at the chance to follow her.

           “We really lucked out, didn’t we?” Tracy’s comment interrupted Waverly’s thoughts that were far too mushy (and maybe a little lusty) to want to share. Tracy gave her a knowing look and Waverly could feel herself blushing.

           “Um” Waverly cleared her throat, “what did you say?”

           Tracy smiled and patted Waverly’s hands that were resting on the table. She lowered her voice almost to a whisper. “I said, we’re lucky aren’t we? Neither of our partners really _want_ to be here; both are entirely uncomfortable; but they’re making a valiant effort to try and hide that. That poor women over there looks just as miserable as my husband, who hasn’t even tried to hide his discomfort.” She looked back towards her husband and added with a laugh, “They must really love us.”

           Waverly glanced over at Nicole again. “We really are lucky, aren’t we?”

           The conversation changed as Nicole and Norman returned, but all Waverly could think about was Nicole.

 

* * *

 

 

           The high tea turned into a cocktail mixer of sorts as everyone adjourned to the large sitting room in the center of the lodge. As they milled about and conversed with other couples, there was one comment they heard in every conversation: “You guys are so cute!” or “I remember when we looked at each other like that – like we couldn’t stand to be apart.” or “young love…” It would be sweet, if each comment didn’t feel like a dagger to the heart. They both struggled to maintain their smiles, as couple after couple gave them those knowing looks or commented on the obvious love they saw. At least they knew that they’d be able to fool those around them as soon as they got home. A small comfort.

 

* * *

           To say things were awkward when they went back to the room, would be putting it lightly. Nicole wasn’t sure what happened, but Waverly’s mood had slowly fallen as they talked to the other couples. She walked straight into their room and striped out of her clothes, crawling under the covers without bothering to put on any thing else. Nicole lingered at the door, unsure of what to do.

           “I can feel you staring.” Waverly’s voice was muffled by the covers pulled up around her face. Nicole hesitated before quietly replying. “Is everything ok?” When there was no response, she went on: “You were so happy during lunch, I’m not sure what happened.” She took a few steps into the room, lingering half way between the bed and the door. She waited for Waverly to speak. Waverly shifted in the bed until she was facing Nicole, but not quite looking at her; only her eyes and nose were out from under the blanket. Her voice came out as muffled whisper when she finally spoke.

           “It’s just so hard to play the happy, loving couple when we’re really just lying to everyone.”

           “Are we?”

           Waverly suddenly looked up, finally meeting her eyes. “What?”

           “Are we really lying? I know I’m not, not anymore.” Nicole’s voice was small and vulnerable yet her words seemed impossibly large.

           “Of course we’re still lying. We’ve just been lost in this honeymoon bubble too long and we forgot is all.” Waverly’s voice had started out strong and sure, but it was nowhere near as confident by the end. Like she was trying to make herself believe her words, but her heart wasn’t playing along. Her breathing was shallow and soon she found herself sobbing, gripping the covers for dear life. Nicole froze for a second, before quickly kicking off her shoes and sliding in beside Waverly. She had to pry Waverly’s fingers from the covers before she could crawl in, and Waverly instantly curled into her side. She rubbed gentle circles on Waverly’s back until her breathing evened out and her grip, while still strong, didn’t seem desperate.

 

* * *

 

 

           Waverly slept hard; her breathing slowly evening out and turning into those cute little huffs, that most definitely were not snores. Her chest rose and fell steadily and Nicole could feel her heartbeat against her side.

           Nicole did not sleep. She tried to slip out from under Waverly once she had dozed off, but Waverly’s grip had tightened on her shirt and she had whimpered in her sleep as Nicole tried to pull away. So Nicole settled back to where she was before and watched as Waverly’s face calmed into a slight smile. She felt Waverly’s grip relax again, slightly, and her face nuzzled into her neck, right above her shoulder.

           No, Nicole did not sleep. Her brain was too busy running on overdrive to settle for even a moment. Nicole had confessed her feelings and Waverly had freaked. While she definitely didn’t say that she felt the same way, but she didn’t _really_ say no either. Under her denial, was fear; Nicole just couldn’t figure out what she was afraid _of_. If she were secretly hoping, then she’d hope that Waverly was afraid of her feelings for Nicole, because then, Nicole might have a chance; Waverly might feel the same way she did.

           But maybe what Nicole saw as flirting was really just how Waverly was, how she acted with everyone. Maybe she held all her friends’ hands and cuddled while reading a book or watching a movie. Maybe Waverly was just more comfortable with eye contact and all those meaningful gazes were anything but in Waverly’s mind. Maybe she _had_ just let the romance of the honeymoon, of the resort and the activities, mess with her mind. Maybe, when they got back to Purgatory, everything would go back to how it was before: Nicole pining helplessly and Waverly remaining completely oblivious.

           But Nicole didn’t know if she could handle that anymore; she got a taste of what it would be like to _be_ with Waverly and she wasn’t sure she could go back to how it was before. And now, they’d be living together. With Wynonna. Pretending to be madly in love every time they left the house. Nicole’s mind wouldn’t let her rest. And when Waverly finally rolled over, giving Nicole just a tiny bit of room to move, she slipped out of the bed and out of the room, taking her work out clothes with her. Maybe running would force her brain to finally shut up for a bit.

* * *

 

           Nicole ran until she couldn’t run any more and then pushed herself through her usual weight routine. The weight room was nicer than anywhere Nicole and ever worked out before and the one-way glass gave her a view of the lobby and front grounds as she ran. Running didn’t silence her brain the way she was hoping it would, but it did provide a bit of clarity. There was nothing Nicole could do. Her big brain was trying to find answers that she didn’t have and worrying over problems that hadn’t come yet. She wouldn’t know how Waverly felt without asking, and Waverly wasn’t ready to answer. All she could really do is enjoy what was left of their time in the honeymoon bubble and then wait and see what happened next. What she did know was that getting to this conclusion involved a lot of sweat and she most definitely needed a shower before their cooking class.

 

* * *

 

           Waverly woke alone in their bed, the sunlight slowly disappearing from the room as the sun set. She wasn’t entirely sure how long she’d slept, but she was groggy and her eyes itched from all the tears she’d shed while lying in Nicole’s arms. Nicole had all but confessed her feelings to Waverly, who had instantly shut her down. She couldn’t handle that right now, couldn’t handle the idea that maybe she had sort of fallen for her wife. Which shouldn’t be such a big deal, because she had already admitted that she was _very_ attracted to her wife. She wasn’t sure what was different about being attracted to Nicole and having feelings for Nicole, but if that counselor they’d made her talk to in high school when Wynonna had been locked up _again_ were here, he’d probably talk about her “abandonment issues”, or her “overwhelming desire to please the people around her, even at the detriment of herself” or “lack of confidence and emotional maturity.” The ass. Just because you’re right doesn’t mean you need to be an asshole about it – there are kinder ways to say all of that that don’t make someone want to punch you. But even though he was an ass, he was right about her. And all those things he warned her about, told her to face before they messed her up like Wynonna’s had, were finally coming back to bite her. Maybe. Or maybe what she’d said to Nicole wasn’t a lie; maybe the bubble they’d been living in was confusing her feelings, making her think she felt more than she did. Maybe it would be ok and they could go back to before. Maybe.

* * *

 

           The menu posted outside the class stated that they’d be cooking breaded chicken (or eggplant for the vegetarians) and roasted Italian vegetables with three types of cheese. It seemed like a lot of vegetables for one meal, but anything once, right?

           The class started with a half hour lesson on proper kitchen techniques. Nicole found it a little patronizing at first (she knew how to use a knife, thank you) but eventually, she had to admit that the tricks and techniques did make the prep work faster. They learned how to cut an onion long-ways, and then slice strips almost to the end, so that the rings stayed together as you cut, and each ring (or half-ring, they way they’d cut through the end instead of the middle) came out pre-diced. She learned how to tell when the pan was hot enough to start cooking and the different oils to use, based on what temperature you would be cooking at. Waverly and Nicole settled into an easy sort of efficiency as they worked to prepare the ingredients; each taking a different aspect of the meal to prepare. Waverly had insisted that she didn’t mind if Nicole made herself chicken, that just because Waverly preferred vegetarian options, didn’t mean Nicole had to deprive herself. But she drew the line at touching any raw meat.

           So Nicole quickly took over the main course, letting Waverly deal with the cheesy vegetable mess she was making. Nicole was fairly certain that the meal called for half the amount of cheese Waverly had shredded so far, but she looked so happy, dancing while she shredded, singing quietly to herself, that Nicole couldn’t bring herself to say anything. Nicole couldn’t help but imagine a life of evenings like this. Well, maybe not exactly like this; Wynonna was bound to “help” by drinking whiskey and sampling the food as they cooked (for quality control purposes, of course). Nicole smiled at the thought, at their little family and their future. As Waverly looked over and smiled, swaying her hips a little bit more as Nicole watched, she thought that this was something she could _definitely_ get used to.

 

* * *

 

           What was the expression? “All good things must come to an end,” or something like that. Their evening of cooking and wine and laughter went by very quickly. The whole class had come together at the end to share wine while they ate the food they so carefully created. The chef in charge of the class went around, giving compliments and feedback, before settling in to enjoy his own creation. They took more time eating and drinking than they did cooking, but no one was complaining. The company was nice and the atmosphere was very welcoming; Nicole found herself making plans to take classes again in the future.

          As they walked back towards their room, both women agreed that the vegetables were a new favorite and they _had_ to try it again once they got home. They laughed as they joked about how this might be the only way to convince Wynonna to eat a vegetable.

           They got ready for bed together in comfortable silence. The atmosphere in the room had definitely changed since this afternoon, and none of the angst of before seemed to linger. Waverly didn’t even pretend to go to sleep on her side of the bed, curling into Nicole’s side as soon as she lay down. The buzz from the wine and quiet breathing quickly lulled them both to sleep.

* * *

 

           Neither woman wanted to leave the next day. In fact, they found themselves dragging their feet in every way possible. They took their time with _one last_ breakfast in bed. Then slowly packed up their belongings, trying to drag out their goodbye. Waverly suggested _one last_ walk through the grounds as they made their way towards the lobby. And really, who was Nicole to deny Waverly _one last_ stroll. Waverly would have loved to drag their goodbye out by dinning in the restaurant in the lobby one more time, but the hotel staff had kindly requested a picnic lunch be packed for their journey.

           When there was no stalling anymore, they climbed in the car and headed down the long road towards the highway. Waverly pulled both of their phones from the glove box, plugging them in to charge. It would still be half an hour before they got service, but Waverly liked to be prepared.

 

* * *

 

           It wasn’t until they stopped halfway home, that Waverly remembered to turn on their phones. She’d expected a few texts from her sister (updates, pictures of kittens or annoying memes), but she didn’t expect the pure quantity of missed calls. Half the calls had no voicemail, but that wasn’t unusual for Wynonna. The calls that did, seemed… off, like she was hiding something. And then the texts started pouring in. Nicole had already finished checking her messages (a few well wishes from friends or coworkers and some updates from work) by the time that Waverly even started with the texts. She ushered Waverly into the dinner, ordering them both coffee, and waited for Waverly to finish reading her messages.

Then, very suddenly, Waverly slid her phone across the table for Nicole to read.

> _Call me ASAP_
> 
> _Shits going down_
> 
> _Fucking understatement_
> 
> _Just call me_

           As soon as Nicole read the increasingly frantic texts from Wynonna, she waved the waitress over. “Actually, can we get these to go?” she said waving at the coffees. “We really need to get back on the road.” Three minutes later, she was walking out the door, travel mugs in hand. The waitress had talked her into taking sandwiches and fries with them (the fastest things the chef could make) and Nicole had left them a hefty tip for their speed. Waverly was pacing as she talked to her sister, but Nicole couldn’t make out what she was saying. She settled their food into the car and walked over to where Waverly was talking. There was a lot of “uh huh”s “oh my god”s and “really?”s happening, but nothing to tell Nicole what was going on. It wasn’t until Waverly hung up that she had any idea of what was going on.

           “We have to get back. Now.” Waverly said as she slipped into the car. Nicole stared at her as Waverly sucked in shaky breaths, trying to calm herself down. She looked over at Nicole, and in the most serious tone she’d ever heard Waverly use, she said:

           “Willa’s back. She wasn’t dead after all. Just in some cult, brainwashed until she couldn’t remember who she was.” Waverly turned back towards the road. “My sister is alive, and she doesn’t remember who I am.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the minor angst my friends, but I've been informed that that is in fact a normal part of most people's honeymoons. So many emotions, so much stress and then suddenly it's over and you can't help but feel a weird let-down/relief. I went back and forth about deleting that scene, even rewrote the whole thing a few different times. My sister said that her and her husband hit that point about halfway through their honeymoon. They'd been so wound up from the wedding and then traveling somewhere new and were set on seeing as much as possible while they were there. But one evening, while they were getting ready to go out to dinner, they both looked at each other and were like "do we have to?" so they ordered a pizza and watched like 6 episodes of Mad Men instead. I think there's bound to be some pretty big emotions going on here, so I stand by my ultimate decision to keep the angst. Feel free to let me know what you think in the comments.
> 
> I'm trying to wrap this story up. I love the story, have loved writing it, love the comments and kudos I've gotten, but I have so many other ideas and writing a story this long has me feeling a little stuck. So I'm going to try to finish this while I have a few days off coming up for Thanksgiving. Let me know if there are any stories you want me to write (I've had a few suggestions) or if you know of any December fluff challenges coming up. I've seen a few but they're all dedicated to one couple... Anyways, thanks for reading! Hit my up: cflynnrun everywhere.


	25. Chapter 23

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Back to reality: Nicole's back at work and Waverly meets her sister again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have typed the word 'sighed' so many times in the last few chapters it's crazy. But this is where the story turns, just a little. Willa's back and stirring up trouble, as usual.
> 
> This chapter and the next have a few scenes straight from the show. I haven't done that in a while, but the same disclaimers apply: I don't own the scenes, the characters, etc. The Earp writers are fantastic and you can't expect to improve one of their scenes without adding more WayHaught flirting/kissing or WynHaught BroTP. So I did both...

           Nicole dropped Waverly off at the Homestead on her way to the station. She quickly carried their bags in before changing into her uniform and heading to work. Waverly handed her a travel mug of coffee on her way out the door, and Nicole said thank you with a quick kiss on the cheek.

           “You two look cozy” Wynonna whispered as Waverly closed the door. Waverly ignored her comment.

           “Where’s Willa?”

           “No ‘I’m glad to be home’ or ‘I missed you sis!’” Wynonna snarked. Waverly hip bumped her sister as she headed out the room.

           “Of course I missed you, it’s just…” Waverly lowers her voice to a whisper. “This is a really big deal Wy! Our sister, that we thought was dead is back and in our house like nothing ever happened.”

           Wynonna grabbed her arm and dropped her voice to a hush, “She’s not exactly like you remember.” Waverly’s eyes went wide. “Not like missing limbs or whatever! Just. Different. The cult really messed her up and she doesn’t remember much.” Waverly scrunched her nose in thought.

           “Where was she all this time Nonna? I mean, we buried her – had a funeral and everything – and she’s been in a cult this whole time?”

           Wynonna checked over her shoulder like she was expecting Willa to appear out of nowhere. She pulled Waverly out onto the porch. They moved to their usual spots: Waverly sitting on the bench by the door and Wynonna half sitting, half leaning against the rail. They both sat in silence for a moment or two before Wynonna continued the conversation.

           “The cult hasn’t been around long enough to explain all the missing time.” Waverly was dying to ask questions, but Wynonna obviously had more to say so she bit her tongue and waited for Wynonna to go on.

           “Doc and Dolls have been looking into where she could have been before, but so far they’re coming up empty. We’re running out of ideas.”

           “Have you put out a PSA asking for information or contacted police stations and hospitals outside of the Ghost River Triangle?”

           “Dolls thinks that PSA would draw too much attention from the revenants.” She sighed and shifted on the railing, before suddenly freezing. “Why do you think she was outside the Ghost River Triangle?”

           Waverly shrugged. “Well, it sounds like you checked everywhere around here. Besides, her disappearance was a big deal – if she’d been somewhere in Purgatory that whole time, someone would have noticed. I mean, unless someone had her tied up in their basement, but then, why let her out? I mean, what good would an Earp be – they want us dead, right?”

           Wynonna jumped up. “Waverly, you’re a genius!” She kissed Waverly’s forehead.

           “Yes I am, but I don’t get why you’re so excited.”  
           “They wouldn’t have kept her alive if she wasn’t useful in some way. And the cult, the brainwashing, was probably to manipulate her into doing what they want.” She threw her blanket on the bench next to Waverly and started down the stairs, “I’ve got to call Dolls. This might be really helpful.”

 

* * *

 

           When Wynonna came back from making her call, Waverly was cleaning the kitchen. Wynonna wasn’t exactly known for tidying and apparently, neither was Willa. The way she was attacking the dishes was a tell-tail sign that Waverly was angry or frustrated.

           “What did those dishes ever do to you?”

           Waverly placed the dish on the drying rack and looked at her sister with an unamused stare. “You couldn’t wash a single dish in the whole time I was gone? Four days Nonna. This stuff is practically glued on now and it’s way more work than it would’ve been if you’d at least rinsed them.”

           Wynonna wasn’t always the best with social cues, but she knew her sister and she knew when to stop teasing. She scuffed the toe of her boot along one of the warped floorboards, trying to get up the courage to speak.

           “So, listen. I thought it might be nice for all three of us to spend some time together. Maybe go through some of our old stuff?” Waverly sighed, but didn’t say no. “Willa’s in the garden right now, tending the plants - seems to keep her calm, so I haven’t told her how hard it is to keep anything alive on our land… but maybe after… maybe we could all spend some time together?”

           Waverly sighed again and nodded once. Wynonna knew that that was the best she could hope for, so kept her mouth shut and slipped out of the room before she ended up stuck drying.

 

* * *

 

           Nicole had gotten used to the slow pace of her honeymoon, but the station was anything but slow today. So far, she’d interviewed 3 teenaged suspects on a vandalizing charge, none of them willing to give up their friends, of course. She didn’t really need confessions – they’d been caught in the act, their fingerprints were all over the paint cans and the idiots had even tagged themselves on instagram. She really just hated the attitude she was getting. And dealing with their parents blaming their friends and refusing to take any ownership over their children’s actions was beyond frustrating. She called in a favor to make sure they were put in front of Judge Rey; he had zero tolerance for teenage stupidity and had a reputation for sentencing teens to community service instead of fines that their parents could easily just pay off. It was a little catty, but she couldn’t help herself.

           The feud between the Bakers and the Murphys was flaring up again, and Nicole spent a good four hours sorting through the various complains filed while she was gone: 5 stolen property reports (that were probably just objects misplaced), an accusation of the sabotage of a prized rose bush, 12 noise complaints, 4 cases of minor vandalism and one form that wasn’t even filled out properly – just a rant of profanity and accusations that sounded like someone had fallen into a vat of moonshine. She hadn’t even finished the stack when it was time for her to clock out, but Nedley wanted it done ASAP, so she called Wave to tell her she wouldn’t be home until late and settled for a half decent sandwich from the place across the street. It was going to be a long night.

 

* * *

 

           When Waverly couldn’t find anything else to do to procrastinate, she went to the porch where Wynonna was talking to Willa. It must not have been going well, because Wynonna was rambling, and nearly jumped for joy when she saw Waverly. Wynonna nearly ran to get inside, talking about how “going through Willa’s old room together might trigger some more memories." Her sisters both followed, Waverly silently insisting that Willa go ahead – not quite trusting her sister enough to turn her back on her. She still remembered the tricks Willa used to pull and she wasn’t going to fall back into those old traps.

           Wynonna and Waverly awkwardly followed Willa around her room as she looked at the objects still lying around. She’d been staying in the room since she’d arrived in the Homestead, but hadn’t looked through any of the stuff; told Wynonna that it felt like spying on someone else. But she agreed to finally go through the box of keepsakes that they’d stored in her closet since the day she’d disappeared. They’d pretty much left the room alone, but Gus and Wynonna had packed up some of Willa’s favorites shortly after the funeral. It was one of the few things they’d gone without fighting. Waverly had been too little to help or to really remember any of the items in the box.

           They watched as Willa pulled each item out, slowly turning them over in her hands. “Looks like I liked horses,” she said in that far off, spacey sort of voice. “I guess every little girl likes horses,” she added as she placed the plastic horse off to the side. Wynonna couldn’t help but make another awkward attempt at a joke; the silent tension in the room was driving her crazy and she found herself rambling as usual.

           “Oh, I didn’t. They don’t like me.” She chuckled awkwardly. She tried to move the conversation on, pulling a teddy bear out of the box. “Aww. I remember him. Mr. Plumpkins.” She handed the bear to Willa, who studied it closely.

           “Poor guy’s missing an eye,” she said, poking where the teddy’s second eye should have been. Waverly quickly pulled the bear out from Willa’s hands.

           “Yeah,” she said looking at her old bear, continuing with an angry bite in her tone. “My big sister used to steal him from me and torture him for ransom.”

           Wynonna looked at her, quietly apologizing. “All right, my bad.”

           Waverly responds with a side glare: “Not you.” She clutched the bear closer as Willa looked at her with a curious stare. When Willa looked back at the box, Waverly let out the breath she hadn’t realized she was holding.

           “A switch blade. What kind of people give a kid a switchblade?” She pressed the button, sending the blade shooting open, managing to startle herself. “Unless I was dangerous…”

           “More like, special,” Wynonna supplied. Willa looked at her sisters with the same dead stare that she always seemed to wear, before turning back to the box.

           “She hates us,” Wynonna whispers to Waverly out of the corner of her mouth.

           Waverly looks down at the bear in her hand, before leveling her sister with a serious look. “She doesn’t know us.”

 

* * *

 

           It was hour 2 and a half into overtime when Dolls appeared in the doorframe to the room Nicole had holed up in to read. He came with coffee, which was never a good sign – the man was rarely nice to her without a reason.

           “I heard you were still here. Thought you might want some coffee.”

           Nicole tilted her head slightly, trying, unsuccessfully, to read any emotion off his face. She sighed and stood up, stretching out her shoulders. Dolls pushed the door closed and then stepped closer to the desk as she walked around to meet him.

           “To what do I owe this honor?”

           Dolls smiled; he didn’t seem surprised or bothered that Nicole was wary of his surprise visit. “I’m not here to ask you for anything, if that’s what you’re worried about.” He sat down in the chair a few feet away and waited for Nicole to sit across from him before speaking again. “How much did Wynonna tell you about Willa’s situation?”

           “Um… spotty memory, something about ‘cult brain’, not quite herself…”

           “And the living arrangement?”

           “Willa took over her old room, oh! And apparently, dissed the house which has Wynonna on a redecorating spree, that Waverly is excited about.”

           “And you?” Dolls trailed off with raised eyebrows and a pointed look.

           “And me, what? Nothing’s changed, really. I move in so it looks like a legit wedding. No one’s the wiser.”

           “Except Willa.” Nicole wasn’t quite following, so Dolls went on, “Willa’s an Earp.  _But_ , she doesn’t really know what it means to be an Earp; doesn’t know about the contract or what happens if you guys are outed. And based on the stories I’ve heard, Willa has never been Waverly’s biggest fan – who knows if she’d purposely out you two out of anger the first time they argue.” Nicole’s eyebrows flew up, and he continued: “Wynonna is excited to have her sister back, and she trusts her, but I’m not so sure. Everything I’ve heard makes Willa sound like a miniature version of her father.” He paused, as if he were sizing her up. “Just watch your back. I know Waverly can take care of herself, but family can be tricky.” He look was pointed and Nicole knew exactly what he was trying to say: don’t trust Willa.

 

* * *

 

 

           Nicole gave up around hour 4. She’d been at work for over 14 hours and still hadn’t finished all the stupid paperwork. She’d rearranged her schedule so she didn’t need to take any time off for the honeymoon or wedding, but that meant she had 5 more days in a row to look forward to before her next day off. She groaned as she stood up and grabbed her stuff. She’d made it halfway home before she realized that she was heading the wrong direction – she lived at the Homestead now.

 

           The porch light was still on when Nicole pulled up, but the house was quiet and still. She went to her new room, only to find that her stuff wasn’t there; someone had moved everything while she was at work. Groaning again, she headed towards Waverly’s room – she’d know where her stuff was. She’d expected to see boxes stacked somewhere along the way, but opening the door to Waverly’s room, all she saw was a new dresser against the wall and a rack set-up to hold Nicole’s uniforms and various hanging clothes. Opening the drawers, she saw her clothes all neatly folded and carefully put away. The drawer must have woken Waverly, because she stirred and gruffed out a “hi” before settling back under the covers, eyes barely open.

           “Sorry Waves; didn’t mean to wake you.”

           “’s fine. Waited up for a while, but when you said you still had a few more hours, I crawled in bed. Was just going to read for a while, but…”

          “You didn’t need to wait up,” Nicole said, sitting on the edge of the bed.

           Waverly smiled, bashfully. “I wanted to. I got used to seeing you all the time; it seemed weird to be apart.”

           Nicole smiled. “Yeah it did.” She brushed the hair out of Waverly’s face and felt Waves nuzzle into her hand. The simple gesture made the room suddenly feel heavy. Waverly was the one to break the moment, clearing her throat and saying, “You found your clothes.”

           Nicole stood up and headed back towards the dresser. “Yeah, I did. You didn’t need to do all this!”

           Waverly smiled. “What are wives for?” She chuckled as Nicole smiled back at her. “You were at work all day, and Willa kept asking why your stuff was in Daddy’s room and I kept thinking about you coming home late and trying to find clothes in all those boxes or trying to unpack before and after your shift… I hope you don’t mind. This dresser used to be in Wynonna’s ‘room’ but she refuses to put her clothes anywhere near a closet or drawer, so we moved it up here.”

           Nicole smiled softly. “It’s great Waves. I’m so wiped, I can’t imagine having to sort out clothes too.” She grabbed some joggers and an old, soft t-shirt and slipped out to go to the restroom. She found her toothbrush next to Waverly’s and her soap and shampoo already in the shower. One of her striped towels was hanging next to Waverly’s floral towel on a brand new hook that hadn’t been there before. She thought this evening was going to be a lot worse, but her _wife_ had gotten everything ready. She about cried in relief as she thought about the amount of time and effort Waverly saved her; and about how at home she already felt.

 

* * *

 

 

           Willa had exactly zero boundaries. She came quietly into their room, first thing in the morning and stood, awkwardly staring at the two. Nicole woke with a start, reaching for the pistol she had stashed under the mattress.

           “If I'd wanted to kill you, you’d already be dead” Willa said in her monotone, matter of fact way. Wynonna’s comment about Willa being ‘culty’ suddenly made a lot of sense.

           Waverly started at Willa’s voice, clutching Nicole’s shirt even tighter. They were tangled up again, but really, they had to be to fit on Waverly’s tiny little bed.

           Nicole cleared her throat. “You must be Willa.”

           Willa just grunted her confirmation before turning to walk out of the room. “Your phone has been ringing non-stop. Someone named Dolls keeps calling. You should probably get it.” She turned and walked out and Nicole felt herself shiver, but not from the cold. Dolls was right. There was definitely something off about that girl and whatever it was… well, Nicole didn’t trust her as far as she could throw her.

 

* * *

 

 

           Dolls had tried Wynonna first, but she was hung over and had thrown her phone across the room after the first ring. Nicole made it down the stairs just as the fourth call from Dolls started. She didn’t even get a chance to say hello before he started talking.

           “Get Wynonna sobered up and down to the station as soon as you can. We found something. And it’s big. Tell Waverly to stay with Willa – I’m not sure it’s safe to leave her alone.”

           “Safe for her or safe for us?” Nicole was aware of Willa lingering in the background and tried to keep her comments as vague and neutral as possible.

           “Both!” he answered before hanging up. Nicole sighed, put her phone down and ran her hand across her face.

           “What’d he say?” Willa asked from the door. Nicole didn’t turn around, just started making coffee. She’d barely been asleep four hours and she easily had a 10-hour shift to go, if this even counted towards her workday. She sighed again.

           “New case” she managed to grunt. She finally looked over her shoulder. “Could you try to wake Wynonna? We both need to go in. Tell her I have coffee and I’ll buy her donuts on the way if she can be ready in the next 20 minutes.”

           Willa didn’t seem happy to be doing Nicole’s bidding, but she went to wake her sister anyways.

 

          Waverly was still in bed, tucked amongst the covers, when Nicole walked back into their room. She rolled over when the door opened. “What did he want?”

           Nicole walked purposefully around the room, quickly gathering the things she’d need for the day. “Dolls thinks he found out something about Willa – needs me and Wynonna to come in and help.”

           “What about me? I could help.” Waverly sat up, still wrapped up in the blankets. Nicole chuckled at the sight, walking over to kiss her cheek as Waverly blushed.

          “Dolls wants you here with Willa – doesn’t think she should be alone while she’s still learning the ropes, you know?”

           Waverly dropped the covers and hissed, “She hates me Nicole! She doesn’t remember anything about me, but she still looks at me with that same look… disappointment, disdain, a general disapproval of my existence…”

           Nicole sat on the bed beside her. “Maybe you’re just… projecting? Remembering how it was before?”

           Waverly most definitely _did not_ appreciate that answer and Nicole winced as Waverly ripped off the covers and angrily stepped into her house shoes.

           “I’m not projecting!” she said in a whisper that managed to feel an awfully lot like a yell. “She’s expressed nothing but negativity in my direction since we got home.”

           Nicole quickly found herself on damage control as Waverly threw on her robe and tied the belt with such ferocity, that Nicole was surprised it didn’t rip. She stepped between Waverly and the door, gently placing her hands on Waverly’s shoulders.

           “I’m not saying that she isn’t being… negative. I know she’s been… icy to us all. I’m just saying that you have a lot of hurt left from the things she did when you were little, and I think some of that is resurfacing, now that she’s back.” Waverly’s body calmed as Nicole spoke and some of the anger went out of her eyes. When Nicole opened her arms, she sank into the hug. “Give her a chance, ok Waves? She under a lot of stress right now and I don’t think she’s handling it well. But Dolls thinks that you might be able to trigger some memories…”

           Waverly sighed against Nicole’s chest and said quietly, “so I’m on babysitting duty today?”

           Nicole chuckled. “Yeah, I guess you are.”

           She pulled away and walked back to where she’d left her clothes. She quickly slipped her sweats off, stepping into her long dress socks and then her trousers. Waverly didn’t notice until she heard Nicole’s belt; too busy braiding her hair in the mirror. She turned just in time to see Nicole pull her shirt over her head – bare back on display. Waverly’s mind instantly flashed back to the day in the bath - the thoughts she’d had as she’d hungrily took in the sight of muscles flexing and… she blushed and quickly turned around as Nicole pulled a sports bra over her head, followed by a dark, cotton vest. She stepped into her boots, zipping them quickly, and grabbed one of her shirts off the hanger as she walked towards the door. Waverly fell in beside her and she threw her arm over Waverly’s shoulder as they walked towards the stairs. Their happy, little bubble was burst, however, when they reached the edge of the kitchen only to hear Wynonna swearing at the coffee maker. Nicole dropped her arm from Waverly’s shoulder and threw her shirt over the chair, going to help Wynonna before she broke something. She missed the look of disgust that briefly crossed Willa’s face, but Waverly didn’t; Waverly knew exactly how Willa felt about them, and it only made her angrier. It was going to be a long day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys can thank CCB23 for the quick update. I was putting away my computer when I got her comment on the last chapter and it made me really want to get another chapter out there. I'm actually mostly through the next chapter, so hopefully I can keep up the pace of every 2-3 days from here to the end.


	26. Chapter 24

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Family drama and we learn more about the curse!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: death of a family member  
>  I'm sorry this wasn't part of the original post, I completely forgot how hard it can be to deal with the death of a family member in a story when you're grieving. If that's too raw, skip down to right after the first page break.
> 
> So I got sidetracked and worked on a bunch of random fics until I got a gentle nudge on Twitter to finish this chapter (finally!). I'm doing this on my phone so there formatting might be crazy. Sorry.
> 
> My life is super crazy right now, so no idea when I'll actually finish this, but I will finish it! 
> 
> Some of these scenes are straight from the show or modified slightly to fit my story. If you've watched the show, you'll know which. I don't own the characters, scenes, etc. 
> 
> This chapter also has one of my favorite Waverly moments (when she's in the Jeep with Wy - you'll see).

          Waverly hadn’t intended to talk to Willa about her funeral, or Daddy, or any of that. But Willa wanted to see if she could remember anything new, so Waverly brought out her own box of mementoes, forgetting what was lying on top.

          “You kept my death certificate?”

          “Yeah.” Waverly handed the certificate to Willa. “To remind myself that it was actually real. You know, that you were actually gone.” Willa’s look was as judgey as it had always been, but Waverly found herself surprisingly unphased; not that she didn’t still try to explain herself. “I was six, right? I saw the little white coffin, but I knew that you weren’t actually in there. They’d filled it with sandbags.” She took back the certificate, setting it aside to look through the box again. Willa picked up the funeral program, looking at the pictures of her and Daddy across the front.

          “Was it a nice service?” Willa handed the program back to Waverly.

          “All I remember,” Waverly sighed as she unfolded the program, “was a lot of crying. And the food.” Waverly smiled slightly. “The grown-ups let me eat as many marshmallows as I wanted. I threw up all night.”

          Willa wasn’t even slightly amused by the story. “Gee,” she deadpanned, “that must have been so hard for you.”

          Waverly’s face dropped, before quickly filling with anger. She snatched the program from her sister, gently placing the papers and pictures back in the box. Willa seemed to realize that she said the wrong thing, because she quickly apologized.

          “I’m sorry. It’s just... It’s really intense. You guys killed me.” She pauses for a second. “What did you bury in Daddy’s coffin?”

          “Daddy.”

          Waverly didn’t know exactly what was happening, but Willa recoiled like someone had hit her and she sat there looking confused and upset. Waverly knew it had to be another flashback.

          “Did you remember something?”

          “Oh. I feel faint.” Willa reached out to steady herself against her sister, but Waverly unconsciously recoiled from her touch. Willa’s face dropped and she looked as if someone had slapped her.

          “Are you scared of me?”

          Waverly took too long to deny it, didn’t say anything at all, but that was confirmation enough for Willa. She stood up, visibly shaking and ran from the room. Waverly sat almost in shock for just a moment too long, because, by the time she had chased her sister down the stairs, Willa was already out the door and across the drive way, climbing in to Wynonna’s old truck.

* * *

 

          Doc and Dolls, but mostly Dolls, had been doing some serious research into Willa’s disappearance. Their wall of research rivaled anything Waverly had ever made during on of her projects. They had gone over the various revenants that Doc and Waverly had been able to identify and had been trying to come up with theories about what the revenants could possibly want with an Earp heir. 

          They’d finally made progress when they found Waverly’s notes about the Blacksmith and her…special abilities. She knew more about the curse, the prophecies and the actions of the revenants than anyone else the men had talked to, but the information came at a price. Neither man was speaking about what that price was, but their attitude and general discomfort told Nicole quite a lot.

          The three had originally intended to continue to keep Nicole in the dark about the super natural aspects of the situation, but that was easier said than done. It was Doc that finally broke, exposing the darkness of Purgatory rather simply: 

          “Purgatory is overrun by demon revenants, AKA Wyatt Earp’s resurrected outlaws. Bobo Del Rey is their leader and I am Doc Holliday. Yes, that Doc Holliday. And Dolls here, is just a dick.”

          Dolls actually looks panicked, giving Doc a ‘what the hell, man!?’ look, until Nicole replies:

          “Finally! Thank you. It… actually, it makes perfect sense.” Nicole shouldn’t believe what he’d said so easily, and she probably wouldn’t have, except she’d seen some weird stuff since coming to Purgatory and she was relieved that someone was  _ finally _ telling her the truth. “Except the last part…” She quickly added, seeing the look on Dolls’ face. He stares at her for a long minute and Nicole finds herself squirming under his gaze. But Doc holds out a thick fill, presumably full of all the information she’d been denied so far, and asks: “You in?”

          “Like Flynn.*” She replies, her cocky smirk back on her face. 

          Dolls sighs and then reluctantly adds, “well, Agent Haught. Welcome to the Black Badge Division.” 

          “About Fucking time, Dolls!” Wynonna chimed in for the first time. 

 

 

          Nicole takes the folder, plops herself in one of the chairs and opens it up. Dolls gives her a quick rundown of the Earp history, the curse and how it’s all related to her marriage to Waverly (with a few interjections/corrections from Wynonna, as he goes). Suddenly, their conversation was a lot more productive. They were able to openly talk about what the witch had told them about the upcoming eclipse. It was the revenants’ chance to break free, if the rumors were true, but the plan wouldn’t work without an heir.

          “So why wouldn’t they just take me? Why keep Willa all these years?”

          “We think it requires the heir to act willingly – why they needed to brainwash her,” Dolls said. “If she didn’t remember her family, her history, the curse… all they’d need to do is ask the impressionable young woman to do what they needed. Certainly a lot easier than getting you to cooperate.”

          Doc spoke next. “We think the original plan was to use your Daddy, that was the reason they came on to your land those years ago.” He glanced at Dolls. “We think they took Willa to pressure him in to doing their bidding, only you took that opportunity away from them –“

          “When I shot Daddy. Yeah, we all know how that story ends.” Nicole rests her hand on Wynonna’s forearm, trying to offer a little comfort. Wynonna lets it linger there longer than Nicole had anticipated, before shrugging it off and clearing her throat. “Well, makes sense – Willa always was Daddy’s favorite. Not that that’s really a good thing…”

          “So what do we do now? How do we protect Willa and stop these…what are they? Revenants?”

          Dolls nods in confirmation. “I think the best course of action is to continue our plan – try to make Willa remember.” He starts rearranging the papers spread across the table. “And keep researching. Try to figure out what the ritual actually is.” Wynonna groaned as Dolls handed her a book as thick as her mug was tall. But just as she had opened her book, her phone rang. “Yes! Saved by the bell!” She moved away from the table as she picked up the phone. 

          “Hey, baby girl! Wait, what do you mean ‘you lost her’?... Hold on. Hold on! You’re going too fast… Shit. I’m on my way. Stay there.”

          She hung up the phone and quickly threw on her jacket. Dolls was looking at her expectantly, but she didn’t exactly feel like explaining. “Come on HaughtStuff. You’re my ride.” Nicole looked quickly between the two before asking, “ride…where?”

          “Willa’s missing. I’ve got to meet Waverly. We’ve got to find her.”

* * *

 

          Wynonna bummed a ride from Nicole to the dinner that she’d taken Willa to a few times (no one should have to suffer through her cooking). She didn’t really know where to start looking for her, but thought she’d start with some of the places Willa would be familiar with. Waverly was already there, pacing on the sidewalk in front of the dinner. 

          “She’s not there. She’s not there and I don’t know where else to look. Fudgenuggets! I lost our amnesic sister and she’s probably going to die in the snow somewhere or join another weird cult or –“ Waverly was finally cut of by a hug from Nicole. She pulled her in tight and sank into the comfort.

          “It’s gonna be alright.”

          “You don’t know that.” Waverly’s voice was shaky and soft against Nicole’s chest, but the gentle hand rubbing her back seemed to be calming her down.

          Nicole reluctantly pulled away, and Waverly instantly gravitated towards her sister. “I’ve got to go on patrol, so I’ll keep my eye open for Willa – check all the places she could have wandered off and gotten lost.”

          With a nod from Waverly, and a quick “thanks” from Wynonna, Nicole got in her car and drove off.

          “So tell me again,  _ how _ did you loose Willa?”

* * *

 

          They found her at Shorty’s, because of course they did. Of course you would find a pissed off Earp in a bar, downing shots like they were water. And it looked like Willa also had the family talent of getting other people to buy her drinks, because she was sitting next to a grungy looking biker, and he was pulling out all the stops. Wynonna didn’t need to be able to hear their conversation to know he was trying to take advantage of a naïve young woman. And Waverly only needed one glance to know he was one of Bobo’s men, living in the trailer park; his photo amongst the ones she’d taken from her stake out. They were close enough to hear Willa now, but some douchebros were blocking her way to the bar.

           “We need a plan – might have to get her out of here fast.”

          “Since when do you do plans, Nonna?” Wynonna’s glare didn’t seem to phase Waverly, but she was thinking the same thing. She doubted the man would let Willa just leave. “I’ll bring the jeep around.”

 

 

          “I don’t even know what I like,” Willa was saying as the man offered to buy her a drink. “– was living in a cult in the woods. We drank tea made from dandelions.” 

          “Darlin’, that’s weird.” The man’s grin grew; she was an easy target, getting easier. She’d never know what hit her. He turned to the bartender, “set up some shots.”

          “What are you having?”

          “One of everything you’ve got.” He turned back towards Willa, and Wynonna did not like the predatory look he was giving her. “Let’s find out what you like, eh?”

 

 

          When Wynonna finally reached the bar, she grabbed her sister and pulled her away. Willa had already downed two of the shots and carried the third with her.

          “You shouldn’t be here,” Wynonna said in a whisper. She was looking around as subtly as she could, trying to keep her eyes out for Bobo or anyone else that might want trouble. She was blindsided by Willa’s next comment.

          “You shouldn’t have shot our Daddy,” she said with a sigh before throwing back her last shot. Wynonna’s guilt was evident as she whispered back.

          “I was going to tell you. In time.” Willa didn’t seem satisfied with her reply. “I did what I thought was best.”

          “You were trying to save us. Maybe he deserved it.” Willa’s usual apathetic and matter of fact tone created a shocking juxtaposition.

          “Willa!”

          “He told me I had nothing to worry about, to just stay calm. He knew the attack was coming, Wy. I don’t remember anything else, except our Daddy let those bad men come into our house – tear us apart.”

          As if the universe had it out for her, douche-McRevenant decided to show his face again. Where Wynonna preferred to deflect assholes with sarcasm and snark, Willa had always spoken with her fists. And his “whores” comment wasn’t as quiet as he’d intended. Or maybe he had intended on them hearing, just didn’t expect them to do anything about it. 

          “I thought I told you to leave.”

          “You and your bitch friend owe me a drink.”

          Wynonna felt, more than saw, Willa pull Peacemaker from the holster against her leg. Despite the shots Willa had quickly downed, she drew the gun, turned and shot the man square between the eyes, with a speed and fluidity that left Wynonna’s jaw dropped. She hadn’t missed the way the gun had lit up for her sister, or the way Peacemaker had shot without any resistance. Only the screaming and chaos of the bar shook her out of her shock, her instincts quickly kicking in. She grabbed Peacemaker in one hand and her sister’s arm in the other, pulling her towards the side door where Waverly was waving. Everyone was running or hiding, except one asshole with a phone. Luckily for Wynonna, he was recording, not streaming, and when she grabbed his phone, she had the only evidence that Willa had done anything wrong (no body, no crime or something like that). 

          Waverly had already ushered Willa into the waiting jeep, waving on a sprinting Wynonna. An arm reached out and grabbed her as she tried to turn towards the vehicle and she was spun to face Nicole who had her service weapon drawn and was ushering people out the door.

          “What the hell happened, Earp?” She asked in a hushed whisper, looking around frantically.

          Wynonna glanced around as well. “Revenant. Willa shot him with Peacemaker.”

          “In front of all those people?” When Wynonna nodded, Nicole continued. “Fuck. This is going to be hell to hide.”

          Wynonna smiled half a smile, like she was trying just a little too hard. “Gee Red, swearing on the job? Didn’t know you had it in you.” Nicole leveled her with the ‘I’m not amused with your antics’ glare that she had been hoping to avoid. She’d gotten used to disappointing the people of Purgatory, but Nicole was the only one that looked at her and didn’t see her past. And it felt a hell of a lot worse disappointing her. Almost as bad as disappointing Waverly, not that she’d tell either of them that. She tried to put on her best ‘Super Secret Agent Face’ as she relayed as much information as possible without holding either of them up any longer. “Shorty’s has never had security footage before, but who knows now… Grabbed the only cell phone I saw recording, but who knows. There’s nothing left of the rev, there never is, but that’d be one hell of a video if it got out.”

          “Anyone here know who Willa is?”

          “No. We were calling her Eve until her memories came back-“

          “So at least no one can ID her even if the video does leak. I better get in there – damage control. You get your sisters home and think of an alibi.”

          Wynonna fired off a mock salute and started towards the car again. Nicole rolled her eyes and headed into Shorty’s, gun drawn, just in case. 

* * *

 

          Waverly peeled off as soon as Wynonna was in the door, trying to get as far away from the bar as possible. She looked over at her sister, who was glaring at the road. She quietly asked, “What did Nicole say?” Wynonna glanced over her shoulder before answering. “I told her about the revenant and the cell phone I need to destroy. Probably shouldn’t have told a deputy that I jacked some guy’s phone, but I’ll just call in ‘commendering’ and it’ll be fine. She’s going to check for security tapes and clear the scene, etc. Oh! And we’re supposed to be coming up with an alibi just in case – no one knows ‘Eve’ is actually Willa, so we should be safe…” She trailed off as she finally looked over at her sister. Waverly’s eyes were wide and filled with panic and she definitely wasn’t watching the road.

          “You what?” She managed to croak.

          “Wave! The road!” Waverly turned her head just in time to steer away from the giant pothole in the road. Waverly slowed the car back to a normal speed, trying to focus on the road, and steady her breathing.

          “Wynonna. Tell me you did not just tell my wife about revenants,  _ right outside the bar where Willa sent one to hell! _ ” The last bit came out as a hiss as she turned to see if Willa was listening. (She wasn’t, as usual, just staring blankly into space, loud music blaring from the old Walkman they’d found at the Homestead.)

          Wynonna hissed her back her response. “ _ Of course _ I didn’t drop the revenant bomb on her right outside Shorty’s -” Waverly let out the breath she’d been holding. “Doc did this morning at the station. Right before Dolls deputized her.”

          Wynonna dropped the comment so casually, you’d think she was talking about laundry or an update to the menu as a restaurant. Waverly’s grip on the steering wheel tightened and she clenched her jaw, trying to bite back all the vitriol she wanted to send at her sister. Although, it sounded like Doc deserved most of her anger. When she spoke again, her words were slow, quiet and  _ angry _ ; angrier than Wynonna had ever heard her before. “And no one thought to tell me that  _ my wife _ found out about Purgatory’s Big Secret –  _ our family’s _ big secret? No one thought  _ to ask  _ **_me_ ** if I even wanted her to know? She’s  **_my wife_ ** Wynonna!”

          Wynonna was slightly terrified that the steering wheel was going to break off in Waverly’s grip, but she bit back her snarky comment and tried to answer as calmly as possible. “We didn’t tell you because it happened literally  _ minutes _ before you called. And I’m actually using literally properly this time! We were trying to talk about all the information we got from The Blacksmith, but we couldn’t mention any of the supernatural stuff and it was getting so complicated, and she didn’t even seem surprised, Waves! It’s like she knew something was going on, but just couldn’t prove it.”

          Waverly’s anger dissipated slightly. “She’s pretty smart that way, isn’t she?’

          “Yeah. She’s a pretty damn good cop – but if you tell her that, I’ll deny it.”

          Waverly smiled over at her sister, she never was very good at staying angry and especially not at Wynonna. Her face dropped as she realized what it meant that Nicole knew about the revenants. “You told her about the  _ real _ contract?”

          Wynonna looked a little guilty. “Yeah, she was less than thrilled about that… something about kicking revenant ass. Now that I think about it, I’ve heard Haughtstuff swear more today than the entire time I’ve known her. Must be wearing off on her.”

          “You? God, I hope not.” Wynonna playfully smacked Waverly’s arm, happy her sister was back to teasing her; meant she was probably forgiven or at least halfway there. 

* * *

 

          Dolls pulled up to the Homestead mere minutes after they did. He came storming up to the house as Waverly was letting them in, quickly following them into the room, before slamming the door shut behind them. 

          “Are you crazy? What was that?” Wynonna was shying away from the fight, already looking like a scolded puppy – tail tucked between her legs, but Willa was raring for a fight, and she went right back at him.

          “I’m sorry, maybe I’m unclear about this whole curse thing. There are revenants. There are Earps. The Earps, that’s us by the way” she says, gesturing between herself and Wynonna, “make sure all the revenants get a bullet to the brain from Peacemaker or die trying. Am I missing something?”

          “Yeah, civillians.” Dolls snarked back. “And as far as human witnesses are concerned, you just shot a random person in a bar.”

          “In Purgatory, that’s old news.”

          “Yeah, well, that’s the type of thing that can get Purgatory on the wrong side of a nuke.”

          Wynonna stepped in, trying to defend her sister. “She didn’t know! I made the same mistake – “

          “Wy, why are you listening to this buzzkill in army boots?”

          “Buzzkill?” Dolls’ glare was entering danger zone; Wynonna usually ran away, but Willa was egging him on.

          “Yeah.” In fact, she threw a defiant glare in with the overly dramatic pose most commonly seen on petulant children. Despite how calm and cool Dolls typically seemed, he was quickly looking his cool.

          “Buzzkill? I’m a U.S. Marshal with Black Badge, you hear me?”

          Wynonna could clearly see this conversation going downhill and tried one last ditch effort to reason with her sister. “He’s been helping us.”

          “You mean: you’re following his orders and not listening to your instincts.”

          “We’re a team.” Wynonna couldn’t help but feel a little defensive, no matter how much she had initially disliked Dolls. They had learned to work together and Wynonna owed like 30%, maybe 40%, of her success to Dolls. And she did too listen to her instincts, that’s usually how she ended up in trouble…

          “I thought  _ I _ was the brainwashed one.”

          Wynonna wasn’t sure what it was that made her snap, but she lost it! And, being Wynonna, she did what she does best, and ran. Ran out of the house, straight to her bike, not caring that someone had slammed the door after her. She sped off, heading God knows where, ignoring the voice shouting for her to come back. 

* * *

 

          Dolls had hoped to debrief all three sisters at once, but Waverly was the only one still around, so it was up to her to fill in the blanks. She only saw the last bit: Willa pulling the gun from Wynonna’s holster, the barrel glowing orange like it did when Wynonna dispatched a revenant, and the resulting chaos. Both Waverly and Dolls were concerned with how easily Willa had been able to shoot Peacemaker. What did it mean to have two heirs at once? Dolls sent Waverly off to her research to see if there had ever been two Earps of heir age at the same time, while he went to check and see how Nicole was doing on damage control. 

* * *

 

          Nicole was great at her job. And  _ normally _ that meant uncovering the details of crime to figure out whom to prosecute. But this was not a normal crime. After all, was it murder if they were actually resurrected demons, not people any more, and were sucked back to hell, so technically didn’t actually die? She felt  _ really _ uncomfortable with trying to  _ hide _ a crime instead of investigate. And it didn’t matter if Willa was her wife’s sister, if it had been anyone (any  _ thing _ ?) else, she’d be the first to haul the dickhead off to jail. But this wasn’t really a murder and even if she did want to investigate, how was she supposed to charge someone with murder if there were no bodies, witnesses, evidence… So lied in her report, said that an unidentified person shot a round into the ceiling over a pool game – no one came forward with any details and no one wanted to press charges, so case closed. Nedley stared at her for a long moment when she presented him her report, and she thought she was caught, but he just nodded once, signed off on the paper and threw it into his “to file” bin, and waved her out of the room.

* * *

 

          Nicole walked back to BBD’s office, knocking out of habit, before quickly opening the door and sneaking in. Dolls hardly looked up, as if he recognized her knock or her walk or something, and wasn’t worried about her entering. 

          “Case closed.”

          “Good. Because we have bigger things to worry about.” Nicole walked over to where Dolls was standing and he spread the papers out in front of them on the table. “We’ve determined that if one of the heirs is to  _ willingly _ leave the Ghost River Triangle  _ with _ a revenant, the spell that locks the revenants in The Triangle would be lifted.”

          “Leaving them free to roam the world, causing chaos, death and destruction.”

          “Yes. And making it far more difficult to catch them. Imagine future generations having to scour the entire planet to find the 77 instead of just the Triangle.”

          “Fuck.”

          “Exactly.”

          “Wait. Future generations? You don’t think the sisters can end this curse?”

          “I think the only way Wynonna would let a revenant take her sister out of the triangle is over her dead body and Waverly… well, Waverly might be able to use her research and her intelligence to find all the revenants, but to put them down…”

          “Waverly’s tough!”

          “She is, but she’s also pure. She doesn’t have Willa’s sadistic streak or Wynonna’s anger and pain; nothing to draw on to be able to point a gun at a man, point blank, and pull the trigger.”

          “Maybe if she lost her sisters…”

          “Maybe… Let’s not find out.”

          “Put me to work. How can I help?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *This scene always makes me swoon! I don't know that my name had every sounded as good as it does coming from Kat!


	27. Chapter 25

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Drunk Wynonna...Nedley is my favorite...fluff...fluff...Willa...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This probably should have more plot, but fluff is so fun! I have a total squish on Nedley, so I like any time I can add him in. I know he's aware of at least some of the stuff going on in his town, and I love the idea of him being their secret guardian angle of sorts.

           Nedley and Waverly had a deal. It wasn’t official, but it went like this: if someone brought Wynonna in to the drunk tank, Nedley would call before processing her through. If Waverly could be there to drag her drunk ass home before the paperwork was filed, it was like it never happened. This time though, Wynonna begged him to let her sleep it off in a cell. She was mumbling about Willa and Peacemaker and a curse – all the things Nedley worked hard _not_ to know about. So he locked her up and had Lonnie make the call instead. Wynonna would be fine there until morning.

           Nedley wasn’t an idiot, despite what many people thought. He knew that one of the best ways to know what was going on in his town, was to be underestimated. No one thought twice about what he heard or what he understood. He knew more about Black Badge than he let on; more about the curse too. He had his own file of unexplained and creepy and a hidden vault of things that shouldn’t exist. He tracked the men the heirs hunted and watched the ones he suspected were next. He’d even helped Ward brush a few… “situations” under the rug, despite how much he hated the man. And, he’d deny it if anyone said anything, he did his best to protect the Earp girls. Waverly was nearly family and Wynonna? Well, no one had ever really given her a chance to be anything other than what they expected her to be: a crazy, irresponsible drunk.

 

* * *

 

           Nedley had sent Lonnie home hours ago. He’d settled into his office with a stack of files and a coffee mug full of the whiskey he had hidden in his desk. But neither of those things held his interest; his mind was wandering through all the hidden files he had hidden in his wall. He grabbed his mug and an other empty mug and headed out of his office. He banged the mug of shit coffee against the bars, ignoring the swearing the noise unleashed. When Wynonna finally stirred, he pushed the mug through the bars and into her hands. She eyed it warily, but quickly chugged it down with a grimace.

           “Lonnie called your sister.”

           Wynonna grunted. “Which one?”

           Nedley just waited.

           “So when’s Waverly coming to lecture me and drag my drunk ass home?”

           “She’s not.” Wynonna’s eyes snapped up to his face. Nedley couldn’t help but smile slightly. As much as he worked to protect her (mostly from herself), Wynonna was still a pain in his ass. If he wanted to mess with her a bit? Well, that’s his prerogative. “You asked me not to call her. Something about dead sisters and curses.”

           Wynonna’s face flashed panic before settling on defiance. “Now, I’m not going to ask you what all that means – I know there’s a lot you can’t or won’t tell me and I’m not in the mood to have another person lie to me. But I am going to ask if you and Waverly are safe.”

           “Careful Nedley, people are going to start to think you care.”

           Nedley just cleared his throat and assumed his sheriff stance. But his eyes were soft when Wynonna met them and something close to mutual respect and affection passed between them. Wynonna was the first to look away, clearing her throat and plopping back on her cot.

           “So are you locking me up, or what?”

           “You’re free to go…if you can get someone down her to take your drunk ass home.”

           “Nedley! I didn’t know your programming allowed you to swear.”

           “ _Now_ I’m locking you up. Nicole will let you out in the morning… _if_ I remember to leave her a note…”

           “Nedley! Hey! Don’t leave me here!”

 

* * *

 

          Waverly and Nicole _finally_ had some time alone together. Willa was upstairs reading, Wynonna was off somewhere drinking and Nicole was wearing yoga pants and a sweater that showed a hint of skin, cooking with her in the kitchen. She’d offered to cook for her after her shift, but Nicole had insisted on helping. Waverly had gestured to the various vegetables that needed to be chopped for the stir fry and Nicole had flashed her one of those smiles that made Waverly melt before she pulled back her hair and washed her hands. Waverly _tried_ to focus on the homemade dough she was rolling for pot stickers, but she found her eyes drawn to Nicole. The way she effortlessly chopped veggies while animatedly telling stories; the little flash of skin when her sweater lifts slightly; the little curls that fell out of her bun at the base of her neck; the smile that lit up her eyes and showed those dimples…

           They moved around the kitchen together like they’d done this a thousand times. Every once in a while they’d bump in to each other and laugh, or Nicole would put her hands on Waverly’s hips as she squeezed behind her. It felt as natural as breathing, but each touch made her heart skip and each smile made her heart soar. She almost forgot that their marriage wasn’t real, that her feelings weren’t reciprocated; Nicole was just doing her a favor. Those moments at their wedding and on their honeymoon were just Waverly reading in to things too much.

           The night was cold, so they ate their dinner on their laps as the sat in front of the fire. Waverly had always been able to talk to people, never found conversations awkward, but her conversations with Nicole covered every topic imaginable. The only thing they hadn’t covered was Waverly’s secret feelings. Waverly brought food up to Willa, who barely acknowledged her presence, while Nicole added wood to the fire. Then they settled under a blanket to watch one of the movies Nicole had brought with her when she moved. It didn’t take long for Nicole to sling her arm over the back of the couch and Waverly to settle into her side, leaning her head against Nicole’s shoulder. She could have sworn she heard Nicole sigh as she did, but that might have been her. The evening was so peaceful, Waverly feel asleep leaning against Nicole. She woke slightly when she felt Nicole lift her from the couch, but she just buried her face into Nicole’s neck. She could feel Nicole’s chuckle as she started up the stairs. She must have fallen asleep again, because the next thing she knew, she was being laid on the bed and someone was pulling off her house shoes. Her legs were tucked under the covers as she feel back asleep.

 

* * *

 

           She woke tangled up with Waverly on the tiny little bed like she had nearly every morning since they’d gotten home. But this time, Nicole woke up before her alarm and she had a few blissful moments cuddled up with Waverly before she had to get up. Waverly had an arm and a leg thrown over Nicole (as well as most of her hair) and her nose was brushing against Nicole’s neck as she stirred. If there was a heaven on earth, this was it.

           She turned off her alarm before it went off, gently sliding herself out from under Waverly. There was no need to wake her this early, just because Nicole had to head to work. After her shower, she left the room with a kiss to Waverly’s forehead. Waverly smiled in her sleep and cuddled more into the blankets. Nicole paused at the door, watching her for just a moment more. Nothing was going to take the pep from her step… except maybe Willa sitting at the kitchen table, creepily staring at the wall. Nicole froze for a moment before slowly walking towards the coffee pot.

           “Good morning.”

           “Where’s your wife.”        

           “Asleep.” Nicole worked to quickly finish doctoring her coffee so she could get the hell out of dodge before things got any weirder. Willa just grunted. Nicole had never heard a grunt sound so judgmental. “She has the day off.”

           Willa finally turned to face her. “What does she do over there? Bend over backwards and let Black Badge have her how ever they please?”

           Nicole felt her blood boil, but the predatory look on Willa’s face told her not to react or she’d fall into the trap. “Waverly is a researcher. She’s fluent in several ancient languages so she’s often the only one that can read the texts.” Nicole screwed the cap on her travel mug, leaning back against the counter and taking a sip. “She also spent the last few years creating the most comprehensive list of the revenants anyone has ever had.”

           “So she’s Black Badge’s nerdy bitch then.”

           Nicole just grunted as she pushed off the counter. “Think what you want about Black Badge, but Dolls is one of the good guys and we’re slowly breaking the curse. We’re just doing our best to stay under the radar, what with all the smart phones and such. I can understand why it make take you a while to adjust to that concept, seeing your first iPhone last week and all.”

           Nicole wouldn’t fight Willa directly, but jabs were allowed, right?

           “And what if there was another way?”

           “What?”

           “What if there was another way to break the curse? One that didn’t involve Black Badge?”

           Nicole laughed drily. “Well, Waverly’s spent years researching this curse. If there was a way, we’d know about it.”

           Willa’s next words were barely over a mumble. “I wouldn’t be so sure about that.”

           Nicole’s voice slipped into ‘scary cop mode’ as she answered. “The only way to end the curse without selling your soul or letting the revenants free to terrorize the world is by using Peacemaker to send them back to Hell.” She paused for a moment to calm herself. “Willa. Anyone telling you differently is trying to trick you or manipulate you into doing their dirty work.”

           Willa didn’t respond, just stood and left the room, so Nicole headed out to her truck, deeply unsettled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hate editing so...I didn't. I didn't want to make people wait 3 weeks while I convinced myself to do it, so I'm just hitting 'post' and hoping for the best. As always, tell me if I screwed up and I promise to fix it. I had planned on making it longer, but when you find the perfect stopping spot...
> 
> Also, special thanks to those of you bugging/cheering me on on Twitter. It reminds my ADHD mess that I'm supposed to be finishing this (it is one of my two resolutions after all).

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to my dear friend, whose words of encouragement ("keep writing the thing...Earp sisters give me life") helped convince me that this is worth spending my rare free time writing. And to Sarahqwilson for inspiring me to write an arranged marriage story and for reading my crazy outline/premise that said this was only going to be 14 chapters (she was right, it's way longer than that).


End file.
